


Breath

by T8037



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-14 12:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 44,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20600975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/T8037/pseuds/T8037
Summary: From the season 2 finale and off into their future.





	1. Chapter 1

He waited. 

He sat on the bench outside and waited. After all, they'd driven in together that morning, he couldn't just leave her behind. The look on her face when he gave her the news was just priceless. Despite gunning for the position himself, he couldn't argue with the final choice. He had been competing with Audrey Lim his entire professional life and hadn't come out on top yet!

Footsteps approached and he held his breath. "You're still here?" "Of course" he replied. "Let's go home".

The short walk to the car and the drive was quiet with a tension hanging in the air. They drove directly to his place, no discussions, using it as a silent confirmation that he didn't want this to be over. The last 4 weeks had been amongst the best he'd ever had and he was in no rush for that to end. 

They arrived back at his condo 30 minutes later, the tension between them thick. Neither of them wanting to break the stalemate and have 'the talk'. Heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner, they moved around each other like it was a well rehearsed dance. Passing items back and forth, hands touching lightly trying to communicate without words. 

With the table set, and the dinner ready, they had run out of places to hide. They couldn't sit in silence all night could they? Plates of steaming pasta in front of them accompanied by full glasses of wine. Audrey took a deep breath........"we need to talk".

"Where do you want to start?" asked Neil. "I can honestly say these last 4 weeks of my life have been the happiest so far, I don't want that to change."

"Do your think we can continue with this relationship whilst I'm your boss?" said Audrey. "It's not going to be a short term thing. I've accepted the job and I intend to be doing it for years to come."

Neil balked a bit at her brutal honesty. He shouldn't have expected anything less but it hurt a bit to hear the words out loud. 

Shocked by the look on his face at her abrupt words, she took a moment. "Sorry, that didn't come out right. It's a new thing for me, trying to focus on my personal life. It's not something I'm finding easy."

He gave a small smile and let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding. "Ok, let's try again. You're the new Head of Surgery. Let's try and figure out what we are" as he gestured between them. 

"Let's look at this logically. We have options don't we?" Audrey said. 'We could end this thing between us and go back to the way it was before?" Neil sighed, he had guessed that would be option one. Not really something he wanted to consider but at least it had been said out loud. 

Neil countered with "We could carry on as we are now? We've been approved? They must have realised this could be a possibility when they offered you the job!"

"We could go back to keeping it just between us? " was her next suggestion. Not an option she really wanted but if they were going to do this, they needed to do it properly. 

That was met with a resounding "No" from Neil. She expected that. He was the one that pushed for them to be honest with their friends and colleagues. He had been her guide in this new relationship and she had followed, trying to communicate her feelings as well as he could. It had been hard but she trusted his judgement. The secret option was off the table. 

They continued to eat in a more comfortable silence, feeling relieved that the conversation had started. The conversation would also end this same evening but neither knew quite how.

Once dinner was done, they cleared up and pottered around the kitchen to get things squared away. They refilled their glasses and headed to the sofa to continue their debate. 

They sat close together. His hand on her thigh and her fingers absent mildly stroking the hair at the back of his neck. 

"I say let's give it a try. What's the worst that could happen. If it doesn't work we'll go back to being friends" 

"Could you do that? I'm not sure I could! It took long enough for us to admit these feeling. It would be hard to put them all back in the box"

They turned to face each other. He looked up into her eyes, deep beautiful pools which could drown him in an instant. "C'mon Aud, we could do this. Have you felt like this before? We've got something special here, I know it. "

"What if it's just lust? All these years of no touching because we were with other people. What if this is just a manifestation of that?"

"It's more than that to me. I know it. But let's be honest here. If you're not going to even try and commit to this then we should call it a day now. Call me an old romantic, but I don't want to fall more in love with you then have to stop"

She looks up with a shocked look on her face. "You love me?" She asked. He nodded sheepishly, this wasn't the grand romantic gesture he thought it would be when he told her. A silence lingered for what felt like an eternity. Neil waited. She finally said quietly "I love you too"

A wave of relief seemed to wash over them. They both let out big sighs then moved in to wrap their arms around each other. "That was a bit tense!" Audrey said. "Almost though we weren't going to make it!" She joked.

They pulled apart slightly, just enough to look at each other. Her eyes flickered to his lips and he gave a little smirk. "I wonder if it will be different now that’s all out in the open?" He asked. 

"Only one way to find out" she replied closing in for a kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

She waited. 

She watched his handsome face while he slept. So peaceful. Last night had been challenging but their admissions to each other had led to a new level of intimacy between them. She woke this morning with her nose almost touching his, legs tangled and feeling relaxed. 

She drew back to take in his whole face. He had the smallest hint of a smile and she wondered what he was dreaming about. "See something you like?" He asked, his voice thick with sleep. He stretched his lean body and wrapped his arms tightly around her kissing her lightly on the lips. 

"Do you have plans this weekend" she asked. 

"Nothing solid" he replied. "I'll be visiting Gabi but that's flexible. What were you thinking?" 

"Let's go out" 

"Erm, okay. Anywhere in particular in mind?" 

"Just out. Let's go for brunch them spend the afternoon in Kelley Park. They have a beautiful Japanese Garden I'd like to see." 

Neil couldn't help the look of confusion that crossed his face. Audrey looked shy all of a sudden. "I just thought it'd be nice to go out properly. We don't have to hide anymore and I've never really had a reason to go there before and...." 

"Stop, stop, stop! It's fine, I'd love to go with you. I just wasn't expecting that! I was expecting something a little more rough and tumble." 

"Rough and tumble hey......I'm sure that can be arranged. Brunch is a late morning thing, I'm sure we can entertain ourselves until then." Audrey quipped raising her eyebrows. 

"You are incorrigible woman! But I'm not going to argue." He leaned in for a long kiss and got to work building an appetite for brunch. 

\----‐------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

An hour or so later, they were dressed and ready to go. She didn't think she'd tire of seeing him dressed casually. She appreciated his sharp suits and tight shirts and even the baggy hospital scrubs highlighted his toned arms. But this was a look she could get used too. He was in casual jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt, nothing special but she couldn't resist giving him the once over. 

Neil chose the brunch location. They headed to Southern Kitchen to fuel up for the day. It was an odd looking place with a small seating area but the menu had some nice Mexican specialities which he particularly enjoyed. They shared a couple of their giant plates to fill them for the afternoon. Paying the cheque, they drove to Kelley Park to spend the rest of the day. 

They spent the remainder of their afternoon strolling hand in hand like any other couple, enjoying the peace in comparison to their normal hectic lifestyle. Picking up a coffee from a park vendor, they chose a quiet spot on a bench inside the Friendship Garden to take the weight of their feet. Audrey let out a big sigh, closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel of the sun on her face. 

Neil took this chance to study her. 'She really is beautiful' he thought to himself. He placed his arm along the back of the bench, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He was sure she was falling asleep! Leaning in and dropping a little kiss on her neck. She startled and just managed to keep hold of her coffee. Jumping quickly to her own defence "it's been a busy week, I haven't slept much" she exclaimed! He chuckled and countered "And I thought I'd kept you awake all night!" That earned him a smack on the arm and a lingering kiss on the lips. 

After wandering around for another couple of hours people watching, they decided it was time to head home. It was an easy decision, they had done the normal couple thing for a bit but neither of them could wait to get back to being just the two of them. One more stop on the way back at the market for dinner supplies and they'd be done. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

He waited. 

He waited with the small cart honestly wondering how long Audrey was going to try and haggle at the meat counter. At this point, he would have eaten at one of those dodgy burrito trucks she favoured given half the chance! 

This steaks were the last thing they needed to pick up and then they could go but apparently the correct marbling was the most important thing right now. He wandered off to pick up another bottle of wine, they had finished one last night during their heart to heart so needed to stock up. When he came back he was happy to see Audrey had finished her great debate but was now chatting with a familiar blonde.

"Dr. Reznick" said Neil. 

"Dr. Melendez, hello! Dr Lim and I were just discussing how much of a power couple you two are becoming" 

Audrey raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes as Morgan tried to engage with Neil. She knew the conversation wouldn't last long. He had never really had much time for all the ass kissing that went on and would shut it down as soon as possible. Reznick was going to be a great doctor but she had a few social quirks she needed to work on too.

On hearing Neil close the conversation with a quick "see you Monday" she snapped out of her reverie. "Goodnight Dr Reznick" she chimed in.

Audrey took the cart and made towards the checkout, stopping suddenly when a colourful display caught her eye. "You ok? " Neil asked catching up to her and casually placing a hand on her hip. "Sure" she replied. "I was thinking, maybe I could come with you tomorrow, you know, to see Gabi. I could bring her a little something?" 

Neil smiled "That would be great, she would love to meet you. What were you thinking? " They stood a little while choosing something. With his guidance, she chose a new puzzle with some zoo animals. "She'll love it" Neil assured her and they continued to the front of the store. 

At the checkout, once all the items were unloaded in the belt, Neil stepped in close behind her to trap her against the handle of the cart. Her dropped a couple of light kisses on her neck and whispered "thank you" in her ear. She shivered. He pressed the full length of his body against her back and continued with "I'll show you later just how grateful I am". If she hadn't been held up between Neil and the cart she was sure her knees would have buckled!

They were snapped out of their own little world buy a shrill "Next" from the checkout person. Audrey could feel herself blushing and Neil grinned away her reaction. She heard herself apologising to the lady who responded with a smile and said "it's nice to see two young people so in love". They both blushed at that!

Walking to the car, Audrey was quiet again, she seemed to be lost in thought. They loaded the trunk with the bags, she returned the cart and ever the gentleman, Neil opened the car door. As she approached, with a worried tone Neil asked "Was that ok? I mean, I thought it would be ok to do that in public now seeing as all this is out in the open." She opened her mouth to respond but he jumped in again with "Sorry, I didn't think, I'll....." 

She shook her head, placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him soundly not caring who was watching. Right there in there middle of the car park, once again she staked her claim on Neil Melendez. He smiled again, panic over and mumbled into her lips "Let's go home."


	3. Chapter 3

After arriving home that night, they worked efficiently together to get everything squared away. Dinner was made (the steaks were fantastic), they changed into something more comfortable and settled down to watch some crappy cable movie neither of them had seen before. 

Audrey's attention wasn't held for long. She looked down at him, he had his head in her lap. She ran his fingers through his hair and smiled as his eyes rolled at the sensation. He hadn't shaved since they'd left work on Friday and she liked him looking a bit dishevelled. He always looked so clean cut and controlled at work, which she loved, but she was enjoying this side of him. Relaxed and easy going. It seemed she could have the best of both worlds. 

The movie eventually finished and she dragged him off to bed. She was sure that he would have slept the night on the sofa if she hadn't. They got into bed and Neil shuffled closer, wrapping his arms around from behind and burying his nose in her hair. She shivered as goosebumps covered her from head to toe. It seems he was more awake than she thought as he began nibbling just behind her ear, the day old stubble scratching deliciously. They melted into each other and finally fell asleep intertwined.

The following morning, Neil woke to find the bed cold and empty. "Audrey!" he called "you here?" The was no reply. He checked his phone, the was a message waiting for him.

'I got an Uber back to mine. I need to refresh my overnight bag and grab some bits and pieces' 

He replied quickly 'Ok, need me to come get you?'

'It's Ok, I'll be back in about an hour'

'Bring breakfast' he countered.

'Sure, see you soon!'

________________________________________________________

She arrived back at the condo around an hour later. She had taken the spare key from the kitchen drawer so let herself in. Walking through the hall, she hears a muffled woman's voice coming from the living room and her footsteps faltered. He'd invited someone over while she was out? She never thought he would do something like that. Her heart pounded in her chest and she moved towards the door to peer through the gap. She smiled inwardly when she saw what was going on. She saw Neil holding himself strongly in a crane pose, his muscles straining to hold his balance. The woman's voice resonated from the TV instructing and encouraging him. 'Yoga' she thought 'that explains a lot' and chastised herself for the moment of doubt that crossed her mind. 

She watched for a few seconds more and headed off to the kitchen, not wanting to disturb his practice. She pottered around readying breakfast, not making noise on purpose but making it obvious she was back. Around 10 minutes later, Neil appeared in the doorway. "Hey" he said. "Hey, yourself" she replied with a soft smile. "Worked up an appetite I see" she joked. "Missed you this morning. It would have been more fun to work up an appetite with you" he said trapping her against the counter. 

"You're all sticky" she commented pressing at his shoulders with her fingertips. His vest was stuck tight to him after his practice. "Go shower , then we can eat" 

"Come shower with me, we can have dessert first" 

"Who has dessert with breakfast?!"

"We do. We'll be doing all sorts of things differently this week coming. Why not start now?" He asked with a big grin. 

"I hope you're not going to use that smile in every disagreement we have?"

"Will it get me what I want?"

"Maybe" she replied as she took his hand and led him to the shower. 

___________________________________________________________

They eventually got to eating a very late breakfast and started getting bits together for their visit to Gabi. They travelled to the home in Neil's car with the radio playing in the background. Audrey was apprehensive and fidgety. What if Gabi didn't like her? She'd never been bothered in the past about whether people liked her but Gabi was so important to Neil that she was really starting to get nervous. 

Neil reached over and held her hand in her lap. "She'll love you, just like I do, don't worry."

"How in earth did you know what I was thinking?"

"I've known you a long time Audrey Lim and this is the first time I think I've ever seen you nervous. You'll get along just fine."

His hand stayed in her lap the rest of the drive but she couldn't relax. They pulled up outside a nice looking building with lovely gardens. They checked in at reception, her hand in his the whole time. They directed them towards the day room that Gabi was using that day and they took a brief moment to watch her from the door before going in.

As they approached, Neil tightened his grip on Audrey's hand. "Mi amorcito, there is someone I'd like you to meet".........

___________________________________________________________

As they got back in the car a couple of hours later, Audrey left out a sigh of relief. "You ok?" He asked. 

"Yes" she replied. "I think that went well don't you. She's a lovely young lady."

"It went very well, I felt like the third wheel today! Exactly how I was hoping it would go."

She smiled so beautifully at that. She was so happy to meet Gabi and even happier that she liked her. The puzzle gift definitely worked as an ice breaker and there was no stopping them after that.

Heading home, they stopped off for takeout at a place around the corner. Something quick and easy as it would be an early night tonight. They both had a busy week ahead in work with new roles and planned surgeries so needed to be at their best.

As they settled under the comforter, and into each others arms. Audrey took a deep breath and asked "How are we going to do this? What's our plan?"

"Why do we have to have a plan?"

"I always have a plan. I feel exposed without one. I mean, how will we arrive in work? Do i kiss you goodbye? Do we meet for lunch? I'm not used to not knowing what I'm doing."

"We'll drive in together tomorrow, just like we did last week and then we can wing it. I'll happily hold your hand and walk you right up to our office doors before kissing you goodbye and wishing you a good day. But if that's not what you want, that's fine too. I also promise not to drag you into any supply closets to make out no matter how much i want too!"

She laughed and smacked his arm. "Ok, you made your point smartass."

He gave a chuckle and kissed the tip of her nose. "Night Audrey" he said. 

"Night........... love you" she replied. 

"Love you too Chief" he retorted and they settled into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Next morning they woke with their alarms piercing their peaceful dreams. After hitting the snooze just the once, they rose to start the day. Audrey was just buttoning her blouse as Neil emerged from the bathroom. He was clean shaven again and she gave an audible sign. "My weekend bit of rough has gone" she teased as he approached. He raised his eyebrows at her quip and put his arms around her waist as they stood nose to nose. She put her hands on his cheeks, smooth and closely shaven, and kissed him mumbling "But I definitely like this look too."

Wrapping his arms more tightly, she gave an unintentional squeak. He kissed her soundly as their bodies made contact from head to toe. "Just getting enough to get me through the day" he joked but was only half kidding. He was going to miss seeing and touching her whenever he wanted. They had experienced an epiphany this weekend and he was certainly heading into a new week on a high.

They drove in together in Neil's car but instead of stopping around the corner to let Audrey out, they drove into the parking lot and into the space reserved for Dr. Melendez. They paused a while after parking, sitting in comfortable silence until Audrey broke the stalemate. "Let's get going, I don't want to be late on my first day."

"Sure thing Chief" he replied.

"Are you really going to be calling me that in there?"

"I'll stop if you want but I quite like it. Better than babe or sweetheart right!"

"Don't you dare!" She laughed.

They got out of the car and started towards the hospital with a number of other staff members milling around.

"Come on, let's go Dr. Lim"

"I actually prefer Chief" she remarked kidding him on the cheek and walking off.

They walked in stride through the building, casually greeting people as they passed. They stopped outside Audrey's new office. There was her name in bold black lettering 'Dr. Audrey Lim, Chief of Surgery'. She beamed and turned to Neil. "Thank you" she said.

"What for?"

"Making me work at this" she said nodding between them. "It's going to make me even better at this" she said.

He gave a big smile back "Not a problem" he replied. "Have a great first day. Try not to strangle Andrews and you'll be just fine."

"Deal"

"See you later, Chief" he smirked.

"Bye minion" she countered, giving him a quick peck and opening the door and taking her first steps into her new role.

______________________________________________________________

As the day came to a close, Neil knocked on her office door and entered. "How did it go? " he asked. "I haven't seen you all day, I'm hoping that's a good thing?"

She sighed and sat back in her chair. "The whole day has been one giant induction. Meeting after meeting. I don't think I've seen a single patient all day."

"Wow. That sounds... interesting" he said.

"Nope, well maybe a little bit. But mostly nope"

"Well, we're done for today aren't we?" He asked.

"I've got a tonne of reading to do for tomorrows meetings"

"But you don't have to do it here right? Let's go."

"Yes please" she replied. She stood and started piling files and papers together. Packing what she needed into her case she gave another sigh. "I'm going to need a bigger case."

She threw her case into the trunk and got in the car in a bit of a bad mood. "Maybe I should go home, you know, back to my place?"

"Why?"

"I don't want to bore you with all this. I don't think I'm going to be very much fun this week with all these meetings going on."

"Ok, maybe you'll be a bore, but at least I can make sure you eat and sleep a bit" he suggested.

"Alright" she replied. "But promise if you change your mind, you'll say."

"I'm sure I can entertain myself for a while, don't worry about it."

She looked and raised an eyebrow at that. "Get your mind out of the gutter woman!"

After they ate dinner, Audrey settled into her reading and Neil flicked the television onto a baseball game. Not really fussed on who was playing but something to pass the time. The game finished and he checked the clock, it was gone 10.30 and Audrey was still sat at the table. 'Right' he thought to himself. 'Time to be a distraction' as he got up from the sofa and moved towards her. He put his hand on her shoulders and started moving them in a circular motion. She groaned and her head lolled backward against him with her eyes shut.

"Let's go Lim" he said sternly.

"What, where?"

"Bed. To sleep. You're going to be a mess in the morning otherwise. Come in, move it."

"Aren't you a charmer" she said, eyes still closed.

"Not tonight! Come on, on your feet, let's go!"

She got up slowly, tidied her papers a little and shuffled off in front of him to the bedroom, too tired to lift her feet properly. She got into bed as she was and was almost asleep as Neil came out of the bathroom.

"G'night" she mumbled into her pillow.

"Night" he replied, kidding her forehead. He laid down next to her and brushed her hair back from her face. He watched her for a while as she slept. She looked peaceful for the first time since they arrived at the hospital that morning. He didn't want to be the overbearing boyfriend but he was a little worried this job wasn't going to be what she thought it was. Audrey Lim lived for the buzz of the Emergency Room and the surgeries. He hoped the meetings and bureaucracy of the role didn't take that away from her.

He drifted off to sleep with a protective arm draped over her hoping that tomorrow would be better.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the week followed a similar pattern and both of them were going to be glad to see the weekend. Neil was on call so they couldn't venture far but they planned to use the time to catch up with each other and just hang out.

Audrey was already asleep when Neil arrived home in the early hours of Saturday morning. She had claimed the spare key from the kitchen and had made herself at home. Again she had collapsed into bed in her clothes and this time even still had her shoes on. He watched from the doorway for a moment, she was exhausted. A different kind of exhausted from their residency. Being overworked as a young doctor comes with the territory but they both thought they had progressed past that part of their careers. Sure there were times, like tonight, where surgeries would overrun due to complications and such, but he never thought they'd be worked to exhaustion again.

He stripped down and got under the comforter as gently as possible trying not to disturb her. She didn't wake but automatically moved towards him and he wrapped his arms around her and drifted off to sleep.

They woke slowly the next morning in their own time, stirring and stretching and just lying there, in the quiet. Eventually Audrey spoke. "Morning handsome".

"Morning beautiful" he replied.

"Should we get up?"

"Nope." He said.

"What about breakfast?"

"Nope"

"We going to stay here all day?" She asked.

"That sounds like a great plan to me. I've missed you this week."

She gave a smile at his cheeky request but was glad. This week had taken it out of her and she could do with recharging her batteries. They lay together catching up on the week and sharing light touches and kisses. Audrey told him all about some of the more crazy hospital policies she'd learned about and Neil updated her on his surgeries. He knew she'd know all about them anyways, but still. He had also been to visit Gabi in the week while she was at a board meeting and Audrey was delighted to hear she'd been asking after her. They agreed they would go together again as soon as possible.

They eventually decided to rise when Neil's stomach gave an almighty growl. "I'll go put the coffee on" Neil said. He stretched and got out of bed "You stay here, I'll be ten minutes" he said. He was dressed in just his pajama bottoms and as he walked out, Audrey gave a low whistle of appreciation and could see him shaking his head as he made his way to the kitchen.

She wrapped herself back up in the comforter to wait and within minutes, she could smell the wonderful rich coffee they enjoyed and the aroma of eggs and bacon. That made her stomach start to rumble and by the time Neil brought in the plate, she was sat up waiting. "Turns out I don't have any trays sorry, just try not to drop it in bed."

"I'm sure I'll manage" she replied. "Thank you, it smells amazing."

He returned with his plate a moment later and Audreys plate was almost clear. "Enjoyed that then?" He teased.

"To be honest, I don't remember having dinner last night" she said. "Turns out I was more hungry than I thought!"

They ate the rest of their breakfast in comfortable silence until Audrey asked "What are we really doing today?"

"Honestly, nothing much. I'm on call so can't go far."

"I know" she said, "this is the last couple of weeks of Hans schedule but after that I'll have input so I can try and get us some time together."

"That would be good but watch you don't get accused of favouritism" he teased. Her face went serious 'I'd never do that, you should know that."

"Okay, okay, I was teasing but I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was a sensitive subject"

She sighed "I'm sorry, I'm being over sensitive. There has just been a bit of office gossip this week about us and I'm just hyper aware that I cannot play favourites."

"Like what? Who would think that?"

"I overheard a couple of residents that's all. Saying that you'd get all the best surgeries and every weekend off because we're sleeping together."

"That's bullshit! He exclaimed. "The board knew what they were getting when they hired you so you don't need to worry about that."

She nodded in agreement. "I know, I know people are thinking it but I never expected anyone to actually say it. I suppose I'm just disappointed."

"Are you going to do anything about it?"

"I think that would just add fuel to the fire. If there even is a fire. I think I'll just wait and see. And no, before you ask I'm not going to tell you who it was. I don't need you defending my honour."

"That's fine, not sure I'd be able to stop myself being an asshole to them" he joked. "They don't even have their facts right though so forget about it."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"We aren't just sleeping together, we're adults in a committed relationship aren't we?"

"Erm, yes" she replied, slightly puzzled at this new direction.

He looked a little nervous and began to speak without meeting her eyes.

"So I was thinking that maybe, because we're not going to be able to see each other as much, maybe you'd want to bring some of your stuff over here and leave it here. There is plenty of space here and it would so great to see you as much as possible."

She realised what he was asking straight away. He was asking her to move in! He was normally so confident and arrogant that this nervousness surprised her. Should she tease him a bit and stretch this out?

"I sound like a bloody stalker" he muttered to himself. He looked up at her, the smile on her face made the nerves melt away. She realised she hasn't said anything and her mind raced to get the right words.

"Are you sure?" She put her hand up to stop him answering straight away. "I'm hard work, I can be grumpy and I really like junk food sometimes."

He laughed "I know all that stuff. And I know your kind, secretly sensitive and so bloody beautiful. I'm sure I'll cope"

"Then yeah, why not" she replied.

He breathed a sigh of relief and reached into his bedside table. He presented her with a little gift box and she beamed at him. "Really? I stole the kitchen key last week you know."

"I know, but this one is yours." He said feeling a bit self conscious again. He was amazed that she had the power to do this to him, she turned him into a giddy teenager but he loved it.

She opened the box and inside was a brand new shiny key attached to a keychain in the shape of an 'A'. She ran her fingers over it, smiling to herself. "Thank you" she said.

"My absolute pleasure" he replied.

She packed the key back carefully and placed it on her bedside table. She turned to him, shuffled closer and took his face in her hands. "Seriously, thank you, you beautiful man."

"Seriously, my pleasure"

She ran her hands down to his shoulders and moved to straddle his lap. He put his hands to her hips to hold her steady and looked at her. "This is it for me you know?" She said seriously "I'm yours for as long as you want me."

"I'm gonna want you forever Audrey Lim, so it would appear your stuck with me."

"Fine by me" she countered, leaning in for a kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

The next few months passed in a blur. Their schedules were mismatched but they snatched time together where they could whether it was breakfast in the cafeteria or a late dinner at home. They found it hard but it was certainly easier now that they lived together. Audrey had moved things in quite gradually and was sub-letting her place to a hospital employee.

Over breakfast in small diner nearby one morning, the conversation turned to the amount of time they were spending apart. Melendez was on his way home and Lim was on her way in to they took the hour in between to see each other. "Let's put in for some leave" Audrey suggested. "I can't remember the last time I took a vacation, do you?"

He looked at her with a smile. "Where were you thinking?"

"Anywhere!" She replied. "Somewhere warm and far enough that they can't call us in would be great."

"How should we do this? You get your leave authorised by Andrews right? Maybe I should do the same so that there isn't any comeback."

She didn't want to admit it, but he was right. Best to do this the way of least resistance and avoid speculation.

"Let's arrange a meeting with him to go through this. It's a good idea and should stop any future issues."

It was another week before they could both get in to meet with Andrews. They had discussed what they were going to say and had pretty high hopes.

"Dr. Lim, Dr Melendez. Good to see you both. What are we're discussing today?"

Andrews seemed in a remarkably good mood. He had been on his best behaviour since the scandal with Han. He had overruled the board and fired him after seeing how much more of an asset Shaun was to the hospital in the long term. His relationship with the board was fragile but his actions had led to greater respect from lower level staff. They felt that there was actually someone back in charge who would fight for the 'little people' just like Glassman used too.

"Well, we were discussing taking a vacation" began Audrey.

"And we thought that it might be best if you were to review and authorise my leave going forward to avoid any issues with favouritism." Neil continued.

"Very good idea." agreed Andrews. "Where were you thinking of heading?"

"South for some sunshine we think" said Audrey smiling.

"Great, sort yourselves some dates and I'll authorise them and you can get planning."

"Thanks Dr Andrews" said Audrey. She visibly relaxed at his response.

"Yes, thanks very much" asked Neil. "Thanks for your understanding."

Andrews smiled as he let out a sigh of relief. "I must admit, when I heard that you both needed to see me, I thought we were going to be having a more serious discussion today along the lines of maternity leave!" he laughed. He didn't notice the shocked looks that passed over his doctor's faces as he dismissed them. "Have a good day both" giving them signal to leave.

They looked at each other, stood up and left with a mumbled "thank you" from both of them. They walked back to their offices in silence. There was a tension between them which would have been obvious to anyone within a five mile radius.

"I've got another meeting" Audrey stammered.

"I've got a consult" Neil replied. "See you later?"

"Sure, have a good day" she said as she felt herself cringing inwardly. She sounded like an idiot. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and made his way off to his patient.

Audrey slouched into her chair and started taking her frustration out on some of the reports in front of her. What had Andrews gone and said that for? They hadn't even discussed it a little bit and now there it was, the topic that had ended Neil's last relationship. It had never been something she'd thought about during her marriage but this relationship with Neil was so very different.

She text him a quick message 'I'm heading home, see you later' which he could pick up once he'd finished his consult. She just wanted to get out of there to try and figure out what she was going to say in the conversation that was obviously coming later.

An hour later, Neil caught up with his messages. 'She'd be long gone by now' he thought. Dammit. He didn't think this conversation would come up so soon, he knew it would eventually but he was happy in blissful ignorance. He had another few hours before his shift ended and at least one surgery so he needed to focus. Hopefully Audrey wasn't stressing too much.

Around 8pm, Neil finally finished his shift. The surgery had been successful which put him on a temporary high. They would have to talk soon? Maybe even tonight? He dropped her a text 'Have you had dinner? Shall I bring takeout?' And went about packing his papers to take home.

His phone pinged with a reply 'I haven't, dinner would be great.'

He smiled to himself as he finished packing up and made his way to his car. He would stop in at her favourite food truck on the way to get some of those nasty burritos she'd loved.

He elbowed his way in through the front door, his arms full of bags. "Hi, I'm home!" He called.

"Hi" she called from the kitchen. He followed the sound of her voice and found her at the kitchen table surrounded by paperwork.

"You look busy" he said inwardly rolling his eyes. 'You sound like an idiot Melendez, shut up' he thought.

"Yeah" she replied simply.

"Ready for dinner now?" He asked.

"Sure, I'll clear space."

She smiled at him when she realised where he'd been for takeout. He noticed that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes as it normally did.

"What are we going to do about this." She asked.

"Same as we've done with every problem so far. Eat our dinner and talk about it like grown ups" he replied.

She smiled more openly at that.

Sitting down more comfortably after dinner, glasses full, they passed the time with idle chit chat.

Eventually, Neil started the conversation they were dreading "Are we going to talk about this?"

"I suppose we should" she replied. "How do you feel about what Andrews said?"

"For starters, it's none of his business. I think we're doing a great job of keeping our private life private. The vacation issue is the only thing that's come up."

"True" she agreed. "But we should talk it out, just to make sure we're on the same page." She took a deep breath and asked "do you want to have children?"

"I do...I mean, I did." Here shook his head, this wasn't coming out as he thought it would. "I want you Audrey, and whatever comes with that. Whether it's kids or whether we are the crazy old people in the neighbourhood with ten cats. What about you? Do you want kids?"

"I think so. I've never really thought about it before, I've never been settled enough to even think about it. It feels very early in the relationship to be thinking about this but I am very aware I'm not getting any younger and I'm past my prime fertility wise. But I also know that any children of ours would be beautiful." She said with a smile.

"And smart, and a handful!" he added.

They sat for a bit, lost in their own thoughts.

Audrey spoke first. "What if we gave it a try but didn't really try?" She asked.

"Sorry?"

"I mean, how about we just stop being so careful. We have a great sex life so let's just see what happens? If it happens then great, if not then we'll get some cats. "

"No stress then?"

"Nope. No charts, moon cycles or running home to do it because I'm ovulating. Just see what happens."

"I think that would be great" he replied. He felt nervous and excited at the same time.

"Settled then" she smiled.

He put his arm out along the back of the sofa and she moved to settle in under it. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head sweetly and simply said "love you".


	7. Chapter 7

It was another couple of days before they had some time off together. It was just a mid week day off work, no surgeries or meetings and neither was on call. They woke slowly that morning, no alarms and just enjoyed waking up together for a change.

They were sat having breakfast and she heard "Fancy coming to a yoga class with me today?" She almost spat out her coffee.

"What? Why on earth?" She laughed.

"Yeah really. Mid week classes are normally quiet, it'll be fun."

"It'll be something but I'm not sure I'd call it fun."

"Ok let's make a deal. You come to some classes with me and when you get your license back I'll come out with you on the bike"

"Really" she exclaimed. "You always called my bikes 'donor machines'. Why on earth would you do that?"

He rolled his eyes, "yes really. Considering that we're living together then don't you think we should embrace these sides of each other? I'm not sayin I'll enjoy it but maybe i could figure out why you love it so much... and then never do it again" he laughed.

"Wow, sure, ok then. Your right again. You know you're going to have to let me be the grown up in the relationship at some point you know!"

Neil just smiled.

"What time is the class?" She asked in between mouthfuls of breakfast.

"10 down at the Sportsplex" he replied. He checked the clock "best get moving."

"I need to shower first"

"Um, no after!"

"No before. I'm gross. How will I compete with all the yummy mummies in yoga pants like this!"

This time it was Neil's turn to almost spit out his coffee "you're mad woman."

"Yeah and I'm aaaaaalllllll yours" she replied over her shoulder on the way to get ready.

/

Class was not a roaring success by any stretch of the imagination. He had honestly never seen anyone with less balance than Audrey Lim. How she ever managed to stay upright on two feet astounded him.

In the car on the way back to the condo, they sat in a comfortable silence. Neil had enjoyed class as usual but looking at Audrey he couldn't really tell. She was sat with her eyes closed enjoying the sunshine on her face and he didn't want to disturb.

As they pulled into his parking space, she startled and half shouted "I'm awake."

"Sure you are" he replied. "Maybe you enjoyed after all?'

"God no, that was mortally embarrassing and I'm never going again. But I wouldn't say no if you wanted to go through some of it again at home together."

"We can definitely do that" he smiled.

"And besides, I won't have to share you with all those other ladies. They couldn't keep their eyes off you."

He looked at her surprised "is the unflappable Audrey Lim jealous?" He teased.

"No, of course not" she argued. "Well, maybe a bit. But can you blame me, those women were almost drooling!"

He let out a big belly laugh at that one. "I did not see this coming"

"Stop being an ass"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just surprised that's all."

"At least if we carry on at home, you can practise with no shirt on for me to ogle at you properly!"

"You have no shame, but I love it" he smiled.

"We can practise tonight if you like" she said with a wink.

/

After a light lunch, they were at a loose end again. Lim excused herself to make a calls while Neil busied himself clearing up and doing some prep for dinner. Once he was set, he headed off to find Audrey. Not in the office where he expected her to be, she was say on the bed chatting away. He waited outside the door a little while listening then gave a light knock and pushed the door ajar. She waved him in and gave a thumbs up, a sign to let him know that he could go about his business.

A few minutes later she finished up her call and put the handset on the bedside cabinet.

"I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose, I thought you meant business calls"

"Unless you've developed fluent mandarin recently I think I'm safe! That was mom."

"All ok?" He asked.

"Sure, just a regular check in. The is one thing though."

"Which is?"

"She wants to meet you?"

He froze, "Um, ok. We're at the parents meeting stage then are we?"

"It appears so. She seemed a little hung up on the name Melendez though so could be interesting."

"How did your ex husband talk her around?"

"He's an ex for a reason" she quipped!

"Crap!"

"You owe me, Melendez after this morning's disaster."

"No way, we made a deal. I'd go on that bike if you did yoga".

"I'm not due to get my licence back for another 7 months. You'll probably owe me for something else by then!"

He rubbed his hand over his face and sighed "Fine, next full day we have off, we'll go for lunch. That ok? That way if she doesn't like me I've still got a few hours of the day left to myself. "

"I'm sure you'll be fine, but that's a good idea just in case!" She laughed.

/

They spent the rest of the day just pottering around and then prepared and ate a great dinner. They were very much enjoying cooking together. Neil had always cooked but it was quite a new thing for Audrey and she was enjoying rediscovering some dishes from her childhood. Tonight's dish was a delicious, rich beef noodle soup which reminded her of sitting at her mother's kitchen table. It was just what she needed after chatting with her mum today and she enjoyed sharing the memories with Neil.

After dinner, Neil rose with purpose and startled her a little.

"Let's get started" he said.

"What are you taking about?"

"You had better start teaching me some Mandarin if I'm going to impress your mum."

"Ah, what would the residents say if they could see the sweet Neil Melendez I know" she teased.

"I'd deny it all." He retorted with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

The opportunity for lunch came a week later. They didn't quite have the full day off together as Neil was on call but he insisted that it would be fine and he could use it as an excuse to escape if he needed too. They stood on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, they were a little early and Neil protested that he needed as much fresh air as he could get to get through the next couple of hours.

"So what if she doesn't like me?" He asked.

"Then you'll know" Audrey replied.

"Really! No words of reassurance? You're just going with that?"

"Pretty much, yeah" she said. "Not much you'll do to change her mind today so just remember I love you. I'm the one that matters!"

"Great" he muttered to himself.

She placed her hands on his cheeks and looked him in the eyes. "I love you, if she hates you, I'll still love you." She kissed him soundly and he melted into it. He felt for a brief moment that he could handle this as she took his hand and led him indoors.

They were sat at a table in the small restaurant as she arrived. It was set for four but as she was seated and confirmed to the host she was alone, they cleared it away.

As Neil was on call, he stuck with the water. Audrey suggested to her mom that they split a bottle of wine. Once they reviewed the menu and gave their orders, they settled in to get to know one another.

"So" started Mrs. Lim. "Audrey tells me you work together?"

"Yes Ma'am" he replied. "We've worked together for about 10 years now."

"Please don't Ma'am me, I'm not 80 years old. I'm not here to give you the third degree young man. I just wanted to meet the man that made my daughter so happy. I've been able to hear her smiling down the phone so you must be quite something."

Caught off guard, he just took a few sips of his water to give himself some time to think.

"I'm just going to freshen up before food arrives" she announced and took herself off to the bathroom.

Neil turned to Audrey and whispered "What was that all about? I thought you said she was interested because my name was Melendez. I thought we were going to have a problem here."

"Oh no" replied Audrey. "She's genuinely interested as it's a common Filipino name too. She's been dying to meet you."

"You mean she wasn't..."

"Nope"

"So there isn't a problem?"

"Nope"

"You're unreal! You'll be paying for that later. I've been nervous all week!"

"I know, and it's been so sweet" she said. "I'll make it up to you later. Now behave, she's coming back."

/

The rest of lunch went so smoothly, Neil couldn't even remember he had been nervous. The food was great and the conversation flowed easily. Once it was time to make a move, Neil excused himself to use the bathroom. On the way, he stopped by the counter to pick up the check. He didn't want the only disagreement of the day to be about who paid the bill.

On arriving back at the table, he was promptly scolded by Mrs. Lim to which he suggested that next time they get together, she can treat them. Audrey squeezed his thigh under the table and mouthed 'thank you' and he squeezed her hand back.

Mrs. Lims ride was waiting for her at the kerb so she gave Audrey a hug, whispering in her ear "he's a good one, you can keep him" with a wink and a kiss.

"Thanks Mom, I think I will" she replied taking his hand. Neil reached out his free hand to say goodbye and was also engulfed in a hug. She whispered "keep making her happy."

"Yes Ma'am" he replied with a smile.

They watched as she drove away then turned to head back to their car.

"That went well didn't it?" He asked.

"Absolutely. Sorry for teasing you though, you're just so sweet sometimes i can't help it!"

"That's ok, you're gonna have to meet my family at some point. Revenge is sweet" he said with a smile.

/

Arriving back at the condo, they decided they were going to shop for the vacation they wanted to take and they stayed looking at some ideas of where to go. They both had a full week off in June but that was only 3 weeks away. Just as they were settling down with their tablets at the ready, Neil's phone rang. He answered quickly.

"I've got to go, sorry" he said kissing her. "Keep looking and show me when i get home."

"Sure," she said. "And Neil, thanks for today."

"Anytime sweetheart" he quipped and ducked out the door as a pillow came sailing towards him.


	9. Chapter 9

They were in good spirits after booking their vacation so the week after when they had their first fight, it came as a bolt out of the blue.

It started as Neil arrived home one morning exhausted from spending over 48 hours at the hospital to find her working from home. Files spread all over the kitchen table, she had yelled away him to stay away as they were confidential.

His response to this was to loudly point out that she shouldn't be working on that sort of stuff from home, especially when she knew he was due back. And maybe, after spending two days at the hospital, he didn't want to come home to more work.

There was yelling and door banging about it all which only ended when Neil went to bed to sleep off his shift.

Audrey sat with her head in her hands for a while then packed up her things and headed to the hospital. She was upset that they had argued so viciously over something so simple but the anger festered for a couple more days due to their work patterns. This made the fallout even worse.

/

Aside from passing in the corridors, they did not see each other for another two days. When they finally saw each other for more than a few seconds it was unbearably tense. They left the hospital at the same time and drove home in silence. As they walked in the front door she rounded on him and the yelling started.

"What the heck was that the other morning? I worked from home hoping to see you after you'd finished work and all I got was an earful!"

"Why would you bring confidential files home? It's bad enough that there is always paperwork everywhere but when I can't walk around my own home it's taking the piss" he yelled back.

"Your home" she shouted, "I thought this was our home. You get to come home in an awful mood and take it out on me. Who do you think you are?"

"Oh come on, this is our home, you know what I mean. Although maybe it would feel a bit more permanent if you'd actually give up the lease on your old apartment."

"I can't," she yelled. She tensed as though she was about to let loose a barrage but instead she sat down heavily and put her head in her hands.

"Why not?" He asked "What's the problem here?"

"Because I'm scared that this will all disappear. You'll realise you've made a mistake and I need a safety net when that happens. "

"Why would that happen? Where on earth has all this come from?"

She rubbed her face and sat back in defeat. "I overheard some of the nursing staff talking last week. About you."

"And how did that, turn into this?"

"They were chatting in the break room. About you and Jessica. And how you'd moved onto me and who they thought you'd move in here next. I got frustrated" she sighed. "I'm not as exciting as I used to be. This chief job isn't what I thought it would be and I'm still not sure I like it. Much more bureaucracy than surgery and I'm boring, I can feel it."

"That's ridiculous," he replied.

"It's it? Everyone knows your Mr. Nice Guy, your probably just too nice too finish this thing."

It was his turn to get angry now. "Thing" he yelled. "Maybe if you stopped calling it a 'thing' then that'd help. It's called a relationship, a partnership, a couple. We should be able to talk about this like adults instead of yelling so loud that the whole complex could hear."

He looked at her, tears brimming in her eyes and felt sad. Sad that their words had made her feel like this. He knelt in front of her and took her hands.

"How can you not realise I'm in this for the long run" he said softly. "I am loving life with you, you crazy woman. Life is certainly not boring with you in it. Yes, we are totally different, I agree, but don't you think that's what makes it work so well?"

She looked at him and said quietly "I'm so sorry I yelled."

"I'm sorry I yelled back. And I am so sorry you feel like this. What can we do to sort this out?"

"I don't know. I need to stop worrying what people think but it's easier said than done. It's never bothered me until I took this stupid job, I feel I'm under a microscope all the time. The board scrutinises my every move and I find myself being overcautious making sure I'm not favouring you. It's so complicated."

Neil got up to sit next to her, not letting go of her hand and they sat for a while in calm silence.

Eventually, Neil spoke. "What if I sell this place? We could buy something that's ours instead."

"I can't ask you to do that" she said.

"You're not asking, I'm offering" he replied. "Let's buy something that's ours and do this properly."

"But..."

"No buts, this is just bricks and mortar. You are way more important, I've just got to make sure you feel that way."

She turned to him, looked into his deep dark eyes and could tell he meant every word.

He continued speaking "We can get somewhere a bit bigger with more office space and do the whole thing together. Choose the furniture, the decor, everything. No reminders of anyone else, it'll be all about you and me."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you Audrey Lim. It's quite possible that you are the love of my life, it just took me a while to realise it."


	10. Chapter 10

A week went by and they spent any downtime they had looking at real estate listings. They weren't going to book any appointments until they got back from vacation but they were getting excited.

The vacation came first. He had booked a transfer to the resort from the airport and as they pulled up the drive, Audrey let out a low whistle. "I know I said just book something nice, but wow."

He looked over and smiled. They had held hands almost all the way there and he had enjoyed the sensation. Their argument last week had been difficult for them both. Sure, they had teased and bickered over silly things before but this had been a full on fight which had pretty much lasted a whole week.

They pulled up at the entrance and a concierge opened the car door for them to exit. Their bags were being unloaded so they headed to check in. The was a short wait in line but they just stood, hand in hand, looking around the lobby. It was bright and clean with a modern look. Neil was very happy with his choice so far.

They checked in and headed to their room, keen to see if it was a nice as everything they had seen so far. Audrey headed straight out on to the balcony and was very happy to see a private spa just for them. The room itself was not extravagant but very nicely decorated. It was bright and cool with subtle splashes of colour. Their bags arrived shortly after them and after tipping the porter, they were left alone.

Neil followed Audrey out on to the balcony and put his arms around her waist. "I'm glad we came" he said, resting his chin on her shoulder. "This last week sucked. I'm sorry."

She turned to face him. "I'm sorry too. But let's call it a day on talking about it now. We've said what we needed to, apologised and I'm ready to move on. I'm particularly looking forward to moving on with you in that" she said pointing over his shoulder at the pristinely made bed. "Let's go mess up those perfect sheets!"

"No arguments here" he said, taking her hand and leading her back inside.

/

After thoroughly messing up the bedsheets, they freshened up and decided to explore the resort. Neil put on a pair of smart shorts and a collared t-shirt and waited by the door for Audrey. He gave a low whistle as she came out of the bathroom. She was actually wearing a dress, a strappy, above knee summer dress.

"This is new and unusual" he stated "I like it, you look beautiful."

"Thank you, Sir" she joked with little courtesy. "I've decided I'm going to be trying a few new thing this week" she said wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. His hands came to rest at the bottom of her back and slid down to give a little squeeze as he pulled her against him.

"We should go now, before we get distracted again" he said breathing heavily in her ear.

"Let's go handsome."

/

They walked leisurely around the resort, checking out the restaurant menus and stopping into a couple of bars for a drink. They took their time, they didn't need to rush. There were no meetings, no appointments and best of all, no cell phones. They would be staying in the room safe for the whole week, just checking once a day for anything important.

They settled on a quaint looking restaurant for dinner on the beachfront. They ordered a couple of cocktails and ate a beautiful dinner. Afterward, they kicked off their shoes and took short walk back along the sand to the main building to turn in for the night.

They waited for the elevator and pressed the button for their floor. As the doors closed, Neil looked over and shuffled closer to Audrey, getting a feeling of Deja vu as she said "don't be an ass." As he turned to kiss her, a hand stopped the doors from closing as another couple joined them. Neil rolled his eyes and whispered "third time's a charm" in her ear before putting his arm around her waist. She leaned into him, feeling so relaxed and happy she could have stayed there all night.

As they arrived back at their room, Neil suggested a nightcap on the balcony. As he poured them both a bourbon from the minibar, she went to change and came back in her pyjamas. He laughed when he saw her coming "I think you are terribly cute in whatever you wear, but I do hope that's not the end of the new stuff."

She gave a punch in the arm and a kiss on the cheek for that one. "Don't call me cute," she said.

/

Next morning, they decided they were going to check out the beach properly. They packed a small bag intending on staying a good while. They found that during the day the beach was full of luxurious beach beds with canopies to protect them from the full heat of the sun.

After people watching for a while, Neil headed off to the water to cool down. The sea was crystal clear and a bright beautiful blue. He lay back and floated, checking in on Audrey every now and again. She had her nose in a book and a drink in her hand. She looked happy and that made him happy.

Feeling cooler, Neil headed back up the sand, catching Audrey checking him out over the top of her glasses. "Putting on a bit of a show aren't we?" She teased.

"Only for you" he replied as he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned towards her.

"Careful, your dripping on my book" she exclaimed.

"I'll go drip somewhere else then shall I?" He laughed.

"Not a chance" she smiled back, throwing her book to one side. "You're all mine."

/

They stayed on the beach a while longer and had a light lunch delivered to their bed. After eating, he could see that she was getting restless. He knew when he booked this vacation it would have to be somewhere that ticked a lot of boxes. Relaxation, good food and daredevil activities.

That's why they found themselves heading to the activity centre after lunch settled, to see what trouble they could get into.

They decided on a quick snorkel in the first instance, something to break them in. By the time they'd left the centre that afternoon, they had booked a zip wire course and some scuba classes for the next couple of days.

/

They headed back to their room to change for dinner late in the afternoon. As they got in the elevator they found that they were alone, Neil shot Audrey a quick glance and saw she was looking right back at him. He didn't give a second thought this time and pulled her to him for a kiss just as an older couple entered and pressed the button for their floor. They jumped apart and mumbled an apology.

"Don't mind us, " they laughed. "We were young and in love once too!"

Audrey blushed and Neil looked down at something very interesting on his shoe smiling to himself.

The couple exited a floor before them and wished a them a goodnight on the way out. "We could be them in twenty years" Audrey said.

"Twenty years eh, think you'll cope with me for that long?"

"Long haul, buddy" she replied, "long haul."

/

In the room that evening, while Audrey was getting ready for bed, Neil checked his phone.

"Crap" she heard him say as she came out of the bathroom.

"Charming" she replied!

"Ha, that wasn't for you. It's my cousin. I RSVP'd to his wedding earlier this year and he's asking if I'm bringing a plus one." Neil took a deep breath and asked "do you want to come with me?"

"Will you're entire family be there?"

"Yes."

"Including your parents?"

"Yes, and Gabi."

She stood for a while thinking about it. That was a whole lot of people to meet in one go. "Let's do it." She said.


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of their vacation was spent in the same manner. Enjoying the resort and very much enjoying each other's company. Before they knew it, the time came to head back to reality. They transferred to the airport and waited in the lounge for their flight to be called.

"I could have stayed there forever, you know."

"I know " he replied. "It was just what we needed. Let's not leave it too long to do it again though hey."

"Absolutely not, once we've moved, I'll be looking for another trip. This time, I'm going to book it all and surprise you."

"That's exciting and terrifying all at the same time!"

The flight and the return journey was quite mundane and boring and they were back in San Jose in what felt like no time at all.

"Shall we swing by the hospital?" She asked as they were getting in the car.

"No way" he replied. "We should stretch this out as long as possible. We'll be back to reality tomorrow."

"Point taken, let's go stock up, go home and hide a little bit longer" she said.

/

They were thrown straight back in at the deep end the very next day. Audrey had a pile of paperwork to catch up on and Neil was familiarising himself with his patients for the week. They didn't see much of each other but the after effects of the vacation carried them through. They would pass in the corridors and let their fingers brush without any other interaction. They would steal a few kisses when there was nobody about and it felt exciting and new again and they were both on a high.

The was a buzz around the hospital for the upcoming Annual Gala which was to be held at the end of the week. The new intake of residents were excited but the old guard were less so at the thought of entertaining a bunch if stuffy old donors.

That Friday, Neil's surgery was planned to run late into the afternoon he took his dinner jacket with him when he left for work that morning. Audrey was due to finish at 14:00 after being there since 22:00 the night before. Her intention was to have a quick nap then get ready and head back to the hospital.

These Gala events were a chore for many of the staff members but were essential in raising funds for the hospital. The only sensible thing Dr Han ever said was that they needed to treat the rich people to help the poorer ones.

Neil was dressed and waiting at the bar already. He would need a little Dutch courage to get through tonight. Some of the ladies only came so they could dance with the handsome Dr Melendez. He checked his phone and dropped Audrey a text 'You here yet?'

No reply.

He called and a groggy sounding voice answered the phone. "Audrey, where are you?"

"Ah crap!" She exclaimed. "I fell asleep and didn't set an alarm. Shit, shit, shit! I'll be there as soon as I can" and she hung up.

He smiled into his bourbon thinking of her rushing around to get ready. She'd look great in a paper bag he thought as he settled in to wait.

/

The Gala was in full swing by the time she arrived and Neil was already frustrated at having to be so social. He had swayed his way through a few dances and was currently chatting with some wealthy patrons making small talk.

He saw her arrive from across the room and she took his breath away. If she was flustered, she didn't show it at all. She was poised and confident as she greeted people who were keen to shake the hand of the newest chief of surgery.

They worked the room like professionals, chatting away and taking the odd offer of a dance to sweeten a guest. Eventually they came together at a table with some of the most affluent investors present. Dr Andrews made introductions and the mingling continued. Despite trying their hardest to remain professional, they gravitated towards each other and eventually were stood right next to one another. He could feel Audreys fingers teasing his and he tried his best not to react but eventually gave in.

"Dr Lim, would you like to dance?" He asked.

"Sure" she replied with a smile and took his offered hand.

Once they were a safe distance away, he took her in his arms. They kept an appropriate distance and until his fingers started drawing small circles on the bare skin at the base of her spine, they looked like two colleagues dancing. She shivered at the small ministrations and even more so when he leaned closer and whispered "You have no idea what that dress is doing to me."

She looked him straight in the eye, his pupils dilated and she just smiled and moved closer.

"I have some idea" she whispered back.

/

After what felt like a blissful eternity, he felt a tap on his shoulder which snapped him out of his reverie. He looked to the side and saw Dr Andrews asking to cut in. He smiled, gave Audrey a chaste kiss on the cheek and gave his position gracefully.

He took a detour past the bar and settled on a stool at an empty table. He could see Audrey and Andrews chatting away and made a note to himself to check in on the gossip later.

"It's this seat taken" he heard.

Looking around he saw Mrs. Gunther, one of the hospitals most prolific benefactors.

"Not at all, please take a seat" he replied.

She hopped up onto the stool with an agility that did not match her age. "I've been waiting to chat to you all night" she said.

"Really, well you finally caught up with me" he laughed. "How are you Mrs. Gunther? How are your beautiful granddaughters?"

"Now now, look at you trying to butter me up doctor. I know full well your not interested in my granddaughters after watching you dance with Dr Lim" she chuckled.

Neil just nodded and smiled into his drink.

"Well" she said. "Let's get the full story then, I love a good romance!"

He laughed out loud at that one and proceeded to outline her on the last eight months.

"Well I'm happy for you Dr Melendez, despite the fact that it means you won't be marrying any of my granddaughters" she smiled.

/

Mrs. Gunther eventually took her leave as the crowds started thinning out. Audrey appeared at his side out of nowhere "Let's go" she said. "I've done more than my share tonight, that's for sure."

Without a second thought, Neil rose from his seat took hand and led her out of the hospital. They took a cab back to the condo and didn't let their hands go the whole way.

As Audrey locked up and turned to speak to Neil, she found herself pressed back against the door as his lips crashed into hers. All she could feel was his hands, everywhere. They kissed until they were breathless and as they broke apart she looked at him. His eyes were black and she thought 'maybe these Galas aren't so bad after all'.


	12. Chapter 12

They woke the morning after the Gala nursing headaches and aching muscles. Audrey volunteered to run to the kitchen to put the coffee on while Neil just lay across the bed, starfish style.

When she returned with a strong coffee for each of them, he moved to sit up with a groan and screwing his eyes shut.

"Feeling a little fragile are we, love?" She asked sitting next to him.

"Hhhmmpphhh" was the reply.

"That's what happens when we finish a bottle after we get home" she smiled.

"Yeah, but you helped. Why aren't you a mess?"

"Skill" she quipped, "come on, drink this" and she passed him a mug.

/

The only plans they had for the day was to laze around and do nothing. They figured that they didn't have to constantly be doing things to spend time together. While on vacation, they had come to appreciate that being together, doing nothing, was fine too.

"So what was Andrews bending your ear about last night?" Neil asked.

"You wanna talk about Andrews while we are lying in bed!" She teased.

"I didn't even think of it like that, don't be weird."

"Looks like you can't take a joke with a hangover Melendez!"

"My head hurts enough already, thanks."

They lay for a while longer until Audrey piped up. "He was telling me how good I was at my job" she said casually.

"Really! I mean, I know you are, but for him to actually tell you is new."

"I know, I was as shocked as you. He said he was happy he'd made the right choice this time. How I seemed to be handling everything just fine."

"That's a lot coming from him. No wonder you were blushing" he joked.

"I was not" she replied with indignation.

"Ah it's ok, I think you're beautiful when you blush" he said reaching over to kiss her. "Just like you are now."

/

Lunch was a picnic in bed of grilled cheese sandwiches. They were still feeling a little fragile and thought comfort food would help them recover.

Neil was lying with his head in Audrey's lap watching some rubbish on television while she had her nose in a book. She was absent mildly running her fingers through his hair in between turning the pages when suddenly, she snapped her book shut and startled him.

"We need to talk about this wedding " she stated.

"Ok, sure. Why now?"

"I need to prepare, get myself psyched up."

"Psyched up? It's not a test" which earned him a mock glare "Ok, what do you wanna know?"

"Where, who, how many... what should I wear?"

"That's pretty much everything" he laughed. "Ok, you ready?"

He started on the details. One of his younger cousins was getting married to a girl from high school. They would drive to San Francisco on the Friday and attend the rehearsal dinner at the hotel that night. Over to his parents Saturday morning, church wedding about 4pm, then onto the cocktail hour and dinner back at the same hotel. Sunday would be saying goodbyes and travelling home. He had booked them a room at the hotel for the whole weekend.

"Don't your parents have space to stay?" Audrey asked.

"We wouldn't be allowed," he mumbled. "We aren't married so couldn't stay in the same room."

"Really! They know we live together right? Is this going to be a problem?"

"Of course they know we live together. They know I'm a grown man but they are very traditional and don't want it under their roof. Sorry, it sounds ridiculous" he said rubbing his hand over his face.

"Next thing, your going to say they have a problem with my divorce" she teased.

He looked up with wide eyes. "Crap, that didn't even cross my mind."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'm so sorry, it honestly didn't register with me."

"Will this could be interesting. Are you going to tell them before we go?"

"Why don't we let them fall in love with you before we bring that up. They'll love you because I love you, don't worry."

"Your awfully confident."

"Your easy to love Audrey Lim" he said kissing her.

/

Dinner that night was a pizza delivery. They were thoroughly enjoying this lazy time together just chatting, dozing and touching. After dinner was done, they moved onto real estate thinking they should get things moving. They looked up an agent that someone at the hospital had recommended to Neil and dropped her a message to make an appointment that week. After browsing online listings, they decided they would look at Blossom Valley and the surrounding areas. There seemed to be plenty of choice and there should be something that fitted both their tastes. They were looking forward to this next step in their relationship together.

The evening passed by and the realisation that they were both back in work at some point tomorrow hit.

"We've wasted a whole day" Audrey complained.

"I don't think so" he replied. "I've totally enjoyed spending all this time with just you. We've put the world to rights without making any huge effort. Eaten awful but great food and had some great sex. I'm not sure what the problem is here!"

She chuckled. "All fair points" she nodded.

She got up off the bed and walked towards the bathroom. Looking over her shoulder at him, she said "Fancy wasting some more time with me in the shower?"

He didn't need to be asked twice, he was up off that bed and following her with a big grin.


	13. Chapter 13

The weekend of the wedding came around quickly and the closer it got, the more nervous Audrey was. She had been frustrated in work with a personnel issue which seemed to amplify all her feelings tenfold.

The 'issue' was that one of this year's residents had gone above her head to make a complaint about her treatment of another colleague. It wasn't a major issue but she saw it as a betrayal, feeling that her residents couldn't trust her. She had always been friendly and approachable, so she thought, but this individual had an issue with how nice she was being. They felt it wasn't good for them to be 'coddled' in such a professional and competitive environment and this blew Audreys mind.

On leaving work that night, ready for the long weekend, Audrey was ready to explode. The tension that had been building the whole week before was bubbling just underneath the surface. She burst in the door of the condo almost taking it off its hinges.

"Woah" exclaimed Neil. "Calm down with the door, we'll never sell this place with holes in the walls."

"Ha, funny" she replied snarkily. "I feel I could kill someone so don't tempt me."

"Okay, okay, sorry. What's up?"

"It's a work thing, I can't tell you right now" she signed.

"Ok, this doesn't need to be as problem. Let's find something to get rid of this frustration."

"Really, I'm in the worst mood every and that's all you can think of. Grow up" she snapped.

"Calm down, that's not what I meant. Grab your jacket and let's go" he said sternly.

/

A short drive later they pulled into the parking lot of San Jose Batting Cages. She just looked over at him with an incredulous look on her face.

"Really?"

"Yes really, let's go!"

He marched her inside and told her to wait while he went to pay. He came back, took her hand and almost dragged her off to a cage. He gave her a gentle push inside, closed the gate, nodded and said "whenever you're ready."

She turned, took a stance and put the bat on her shoulder. The first ball was a swing and a miss and she turned to glare at him.

"Imagine it's the face of the person pissing you off" he said.

She turned back and swung again. This time she clipped it but it wasn't full contact. She swung again, and again, and again and then she smacked one square on. It made a satisfying clink and she turned to him again. This time with a big grin across her face.

She carried on for another 15 minutes, hitting some and missing some. She came out of the cage with a little spring in her step, she walked right up to him and planted a kiss right there.

"Better?" He asked.

"Oh yes, I kept imagining that annoying little face and just kept swinging" she said with a smile.

"Excellent, that was the plan" he smiles back. "Besides, we couldn't take our trip this weekend otherwise. Can you imagine meeting my parents like that!"

"Thank you" she replied.

"Trust me, it was my pleasure" he winked.

/

They left after lunch the next day to drive to the hotel. They pulled into the parking lot and took a moment to appreciate the location before getting their bags from the trunk.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"You'll be fine, trust me. They'll love you just as much as I do" he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her soundly. "Come on."

The lobby was busy so they joined the small line to check in. Audrey stood so close that you couldn't see light between them, his hand was placed casually on her hip.

"Would you relax?" He said, giving her hip a squeeze. "I swear you could power a small town the energy you're giving off" he teased.

"I'll be fine" she replied. "I wish this line would hurry up though."

The check in was smooth and they were making their was to the elevator when they heard "Neil, Neil, is that you?!"

He stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned. He was engulfed by a small woman with black hair.

"Hi Auntie, how are you?" He asked from his strangle hold.

"Oh you know, muddling on" she replied. She released him from the hug but kept a firm grip on his hands.

"Well, we've only just arrived so we're just heading to find our room" he said trying make a subtle exit.

"We? Oh look, this must be Audrey. We heard Neil was bringing a lady friend. Nice to meet you" she said as she enveloped her in big hug.

"Nice to meet you too" Audrey replied from the vice like grip.

"I'll look forward to meeting you properly tonight" Auntie said, letting go.

"Thanks" she replied. "You too!"

Neil took the pause to take her hand and make their excuses to find their room. They held their breath until the elevator doors were safely closed then collapsed back against the wall with relief.

"You handled that pretty well" he laughed.

"I'll be ready next time" she replied.

"You think so?" He said earning himself a soft punch.

They walked quickly along the corridor to find their room as Neil fumbled with the key card. Audrey whispered "move it, I hear voices."

They fell in the door and it clicked shut behind them. As she turned to look at him, she saw a serious look on his face. He had hung up the suit carrier and was walking towards her, staring her down.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing" he replied as he kissed her and pushed her backwards towards the bed.

"Really, now?"

"All the time Aud, but yes now" he said raining kisses down her neck. "Besides once word gets our we're here, we won't get a minutes peace. I give it 30 minutes until my cell starts ringing."

"30 minutes, that's nothing to boast about" she teased.

He gave her a gentle shove and she fell backward. "I can get a lot done in 30 minutes, thank you very much. "

"Best get to work then Melendez" she replied, pulling him towards her.


	14. Chapter 14

They lay there, tangled in the sheets enjoying the moment and then it happened, the phone began to ring. Audrey lifted her head.

"36 minutes" she said. "You weren't far wrong."

He groaned and reached out over her to answer the call. She took the opportunity to place a kiss on his neck and he gave a soft smile. He sat up against the headboard, tucked the sheets around his waist and answered the phone.

"Hey Mom" he said. "You ok?"

She could hear a muffled voice on the other end of the line and saw Neil roll his eyes.

"No Mom, I didn't introduce Auntie first. She just happened to be in the lobby as we were checking in."

The response came and he closed his eyes rubbing his temples. "No Mom, we're didn't arrange anything. Total coincidence, I promise."

Audrey caught his eye to ask if he wanted a coffee, he gave her an exaggerated nod. She chuckled to herself, set the coffee machine to go and headed into the bathroom.

A short while later she heard the bathroom door open and felt a draught as the door to the shower followed. She felt him step up behind her and turned to face him.

"How did that go?"

"She's fine. She thought there was a total conspiracy with Auntie to introduce you first but I think I talked her down."

"That's ok then, I want to stay in her good books while I'm dating her little boy" she teased.

"Please let's stop taking about my mum while we're in the shower." Her said as he started an assault on her neck.

They leisurely washed and dried and started getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. Audrey was applying some make up at the dressing table and Neil was sat back on the bed enjoying the view of her sat in her underwear. There was an unexpected knock at the door and Neil put his finger to his lips. He crept towards the door in his just his boxers and took a look through the spy hole. He dropped his shoulders, shook his head and opened the door just a crack.

"Hey" she heard him say. "Not the best time, we're just getting ready."

There was murmuring from the hall and then a stern "no you can't come in, she's in the shower and I'm in my underwear."

More words, then "I don't care that you've seen it all before! We'll see you at dinner!"

He shut the door and leaned against it shaking his head in disbelief.

"If I find the porter who gave out our room number, I'm getting them fired" he said.

/

It was time to go, they were as ready as they would ever be. Neil was dressed in a dark grey suit with a burgundy shirt while Audrey matched in a burgundy crochet style knee length dress. They complimented each other perfectly. They walked down to the dinner via the stairwell to avoid other family members for as long as possible, he didn't think his Mom would forgive him if anyone else met Audrey first.

He stopped just before entering the lobby and took her in his arms. "I love you" he said looking her straight in the eye. "No matter what all these crazy people get up to tonight, I love you."

"I know, I love you too" she replied.

They took a deep breath and headed out into the chaos. As they entered the room to find their seats they heard "Neil, Neil, over here." They saw his Mom waving from a table nearby.

"Here goes nothing" she muttered under her breath. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and led her over.

After making the initial introductions, Neil's Mom insisted that Audrey sit next to her and shooed Neil off to the bar. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered "you'll be fine" as he went to get the drinks.

As he got to the bar, he met with his father, uncles and a couple of cousins. Bracing for a good natured ribbing he joined the group.

"Hey loser" one if his cousins started. "Looks like your punching above your weight again with the ladies" he said putting a friendly arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah" he replied. "Just so happens I agree with you though!"

"Ahhhh whipped already" they joked.

"Fine by me" he countered.

They all paused, looked and totally changed the subject. They were used to him biting at their remarks but this time he was being so blasé about it, it was no fun.

He headed back to the table with his dad in tow and a tray of drinks. He sat beside her, putting his arm along the back of her seat and absentmindedly started playing with some of the hair that was loose around her shoulders. His father caught his eye and leaned closer.

"She's beautiful, son."

"I know, dad."

"You really are punching!" He said with a wink.

"Shut up!" he laughed.

/

Dinner passed, incident free and they had a small break before the toasts. Neil grabbed her hand and headed out to the balcony to give her a break.

"How's it going?"

"Good, I think she likes me so far."

"Course she does, who wouldn't" he smiled.

"Kiss ass" she joked with a big smile.

They headed back inside when they heard the clink of glasses and took their seats in time for the toasts. There was a lot of good natured teasing going on throughout as well as more serious moments missing absent family and friends. They had time to mingle a little more afterwards until guests started leaving to prepare for the early start the next day.

Saying their goodbyes, they headed back to their room. They had promised to be at his parents before lunch tomorrow so would see plenty more of them then. They stood waiting for the elevator in a comfortable silence. As the doors closed, they simultaneously let out a deep sigh, then a big laugh.

"Made it through round one unscathed" he said.

"Just about" she replied. "Round two tomorrow."

"You'll cruise through it. Besides, Gabi is arriving tomorrow and you get to meet my Abuela. Hours of fun!"

"Can't wait, as long as your about, I'll be fine."

"I'm not going anywhere, don't worry about that" he said taking her hand and leading her to their room.


	15. Chapter 15

Their Saturday morning was relaxed and they ordered breakfast as room service. They eventually dressed and headed out to his parents home. They pulled up on the driveway about fifteen minutes later and walked towards the front door. Before their feet hit the bottom step, the door flew open and there she was...Neil's Abuela.

For the millionth time so far this weekend, he was wrapped in the arms of a relative. It was sweet and but it made Audrey realise how much smaller her family was. She war wrapped up in a great hug again. 'I could actually get used to this' she thought to herself.

"Lita, meet Audrey" she heard.

"Look at you, you're beautiful Audrey, he's a lucky man" she said as she took her arm and guided her inside.

"Yes he is" she agreed looking back over her shoulder at Neil. He shook his head and followed them inside.

Inside they joined his parents and sister in the kitchen. Audrey was already sat chatting with Gabi, both of them smiling widely. The conversations flowed easily until lunch when they all sat down to eat. Neil's grandmother had not been at the rehearsal yesterday so was catching up on some of the details of the relationship. "How did you two meet?" she asked.

"We work together" Audrey answered. "We have done for a long time, we did our residency together."

"You work at the hospital too?"

"Yes," Audrey replied. "I'm Chief of Surgery."

His Mom and Dad exchanged a look and Abuela asked what they were all thinking. "You're his boss?" with surprise in her voice.

"Yes Lita, the hospital is fine with it" Neil replied. "We were dating before the she was offered the job."

"You'll miss that when you finish to have children" she continued. "You'll have to give it up, won't you?"

A look of shock crossed Audreys face as it started to dawn on her just how traditional Neils family were. She was too stunned to answer straight away and looked to Neil for reassurance. He stepped up, replying "No way, she's worked to hard to get where she is. That's what day-care is for."

His Mom rose from her seat and headed into the kitchen, not saying a word. Neil went to follow but his dad motioned for him to sit. "I'll go" he said.

It seemed that the people left around the table had lost their appetite when the conversation came to an end so they started gathering the crockery ready to take to the kitchen. After a while, his Mom and Dad returned to help clear the table.

"I'm sorry," his Mom said. "Ben has just pointed out that we are in the 21st century and things are a little different from when we were young. I'm sorry Audrey, that was rude of me."

"That's ok" Audrey replied.

Neil was not so quick to accept the apology. "Sorry Mom, it isn't ok. In the interest of full disclosure, let's get some facts on the table." he started. Audrey looked at him with panic in her eyes but he took her hand and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. "Audrey is divorced. I'm selling my condo and we're buying a place together. Let's just get everything out in the open now and sort it out."

There was a bustle of movement and his mother sat heavily in her seat. Audrey looked over at Neil and gestured 'why' and then he continued to speak.

"I'm 37 years old and I've worked hard all my life to get where I am. I've sacrificed a lot especially when it comes to relationships. It's not been easy and you guys have been there every step of the way. But, you know who else has been there? Audrey. She's pushed me to be the best I can be since we started our residency together and I couldn't be more grateful. She's brilliant at what she does, she's saved hundreds of lives. Yes, she's stubborn and strong willed but I love that about her, just as I adore those things about you Mom."

His Mom opened her mouth to speak but he held up his hand to stop her. He was on a roll.

"Maybe we'll get married, maybe we won't. Maybe we'll have kids, maybe not. But one thing I know for sure if that I'll be spending the rest of my life with Audrey so get used to it please."

He looked at Audrey, her eyes had filled with tears at his words. His Mom sat looking at her hands and his Lita sat with a soft smile in her face.

"I think we'd better go. We'll see you at the ceremony." Neil continued. He took Audrey by the hand and led her to the door. He quickly went back to the table, kissed his Mom and Lita and then they left.

/

They drove back to the hotel and got back to their room in virtual silence. Audrey opened the door and Neil walked past, falling face first onto the bed with a groan.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

He turned onto his side to look at her and have a soft smile. "I'll be fine" he assured her. "I'm not sure I've ever spoken to my Mom like that before."

"I don't know what to say? Sorry I suppose, for causing this drama."

"No way, don't be sorry for being who you are. They have a more traditional lifestyle and I'm doing things differently. I've pretty much followed their guidance my whole life, they are a great example of family. They'll come around I'm sure. Although, when we do get married, it'll be in a church, I'm not risking that debate!"

"When?" She asked.

"Yeah, when" he replied simply taking her in his arms.

"As much as In enjoying this, we should get ready for the service" Audrey suggested.

"Can't we just stay here?"

"If you really want to piss off your Mom, sure. Otherwise, move it Melendez!"

They showered and dressed ready to go. Neil looked very handsome in his tuxedo and Audrey wore a beautifully detailed blue dress. They really did look great together and turned a few heads as they passed through the lobby on the way out.

Arriving at the church, they parked up and Neil turned to her. "I'm sorry" he said. "I'm sorry I put you in this position. But in my defence, I warned you that my family was crazy."

She smiled away him. "We'll be fine, don't worry. And I'm sure your parents will come around, they'll see how strong their son is and it'll all be fine." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself, just as much as she was convincing him.

Her leaned over, kissed her and said "Let's do this. Can't put it off forever. "

They sat on the groom's side of the aisle, Gabi and her attendant joined them but his parents walked past and sat a few rows in front. Audrey squeezed his hand to try to reassure him, he gave a weak smile in return that didn't quite reach his eyes.

After the 30 minute ceremony, they gathered briefly outside for photographs before heading back to the hotel again. They arrived for cocktail hour and spent the time catching up with more distant family members. Just before they were due to sit down for dinner, Neil's Mom approached. "Audrey, could I speak to you in private please?"

'Mom" Neil warned.

"I'll be fine" Audrey assured him. "I'll come find you in a bit.

She followed Sofia to a quiet corner where she gestured that they should sit.

"I wanted to show you something this morning" she stated. "But with everything, well you know."  
She dug around in her bag and produced a handful of photographs. "I wanted to bring the whole album but Ben said no" she smiled. She held them out to Audrey who gave a big smile when she realised what she was looking at. Baby pictures of Neil Melendez, quite possibly the cutest pictures she had ever seen.

"These are amazing Sofia, thank you." She flicked through them slowly and said "he was so cute."

"Such a beautiful baby. And he's grown into a beautiful man" she smiled.

"He has" Audrey agreed. "That's down to you, you know. You and Ben. I was so nervous to come here this weekend but he's been so excited to introduce you. He thinks the world of you, he would never hurt you on purpose Sofia. I guess you can't help who you fall in love with. "

"I know" she replied. "I'm sorry, it was just a bit of a shock. He's never spoken to us like that before you know" she paused but held up her hand to show she wasn't finished. "He was so passionate about you, it was beautiful to see."

She took Audrey's hands in hers and said with a smile "Do you think we could be friends? I don't want to lose my son."

"I'm not going anywhere Sofia, I intend on being around for a long time and I'd love it if we can be friends. I can't promise you a big white wedding but when we are ready, it will be something that makes you proud."

"Don't leave it too long, I want beautiful grandbabies to spoil before I'm too old!" his Mom exclaimed with a smile lighting up her face.

Audrey laughed, "One thing at a time Sofia! We'd best get back before they send a search party for us."

/

They returned to the party together and took their seats at the table. Neil leaned in and whispered "All ok?" She nodded her response and kissed him on the cheek.

Dinner passed without incident and they retired to the bar area to allow the room to be reset. They took this chance to steal some time alone. Neil was desperate to find out what his Mom had said so they found a quiet corner to chat.

"She apologised?!" He repeated. "She must really like you, I don't think I've ever heard her apologise in 37 years" he teased.

"She was quite keen on the grandchild topic though. I felt bad."

"Why?"

"Because we've been careless for months now and nothing's happened. I'm not too worried but I'm worried she'll be upset if nothing comes of it."

"Don't think like that. Like we said, maybe it will, maybe it won't. One thing is for sure is that we'll have fun giving it a go" he commented as he moved closer. He pushed her until her back was against the wall and stepped right into her personal space. His hands ran up her sides, giving her goosebumps and he kissed her, hard, until they were both breathless. "Lots of fun trying" he said as they came up for air.

/

They spent the rest of their evening laughing and dancing. As the crowds thinned and guests began to depart, they found themselves on the dancefloor wrapped in each other's arms. They danced so closely that you couldn't see light between them.

Neil's Mom and Abuela watched from a nearby table. "Look how happy he is Sofia"

"I know Mama, I know. She does seem wonderful, and he is so happy. I've never seen him smile so much. He was always so serious!"

"This is a good thing" Lita said

They continued to watch and chat for a while longer until it was time to leave.

Neil and Audrey walked them out of the lobby to their cars.

"We'll see you soon yes" asked Gabi.

"Absolutely Amorcita, we'll be over next week sometime. And you guys, once we move and have more space you can come stay maybe?"

"Maybe we will" said his Mom drawing him in for a hug. "Love you, son."

"Love you too, Mom."

His father followed him back to the door and drew him into a hug. "If she is the one, you should put a ring on her finger son, before she realises that she could do better" he whispered.

"I will, don't worry but only when we are ready." He looked over his shoulder to check Audrey was out of earshot. "Do you think you can get Mom to lay off the grandchild topic for a bit please."

"Why? Don't you want children? Can't she have children?" He asked.

He sighed, he wasn't going to get away with that request without a bit more detail. "We don't know, we've been..." he paused trying to find the right words "irresponsible for a few months and nothing's happened. It might not happen, we don't know."

"I'll have a word, son. She'll probably be more distracted by the fact that that you could have a baby before you're married to ask too many questions!" He joked.

"Thanks Dad, I think." Neil replied with a smile.


	16. Chapter 16

After they got back to San Jose on the Sunday, they took the rest of the day to catch up on chores and grocery shopping. To someone on the outside, it would look like a couple going about their boring weekend but to Neil and Audrey, it was respite after a stressful weekend.

They would have a busy few weeks coming up looking at real estate. Audrey had let her lease expire and they would have no problem selling the condo, it was just finding time to fit it all in.

Their shifts at work were not very compatible this week so finding time to meet the agent was difficult. In the end, they agreed that they would meet in work on a break. They would have the privacy of an office at least.

The first appointment they could get was Wednesday and they were looking forward. They had browsed online, of course, but they were looking forward to seeing what the agent had to offer.

When the agent arrived, she looked harassed and carried a large briefcase of paperwork.

"Everything ok?" Neil asked as they all took a seat around the coffee table in his office.

"Sure, sure" she replied. "You two have been quite tricky to find listings for but I'm sure I've got some here that you'll like."

"I thought we'd be easy since we've got nothing in particular in mind" Audrey said.

"Quite the opposite!" The agent replied with a laugh. "Unless you have some requirements, you'll be looking away everything on the market."

"Ok, well I need a garage for my bike."

"And an office" Neil added.

"And a nice yard,."

"But low maintenance."

"And three bedrooms."

"And quiet."

The agent looked much happier at that and pulled out several listings from her pile. "Now that's information I can work with" she exclaimed. "I'll book you appointments at these next over the next week and I'm having an open house at this lovely place on Saturday. You should come along" she said handing them a brochure.

The property really was beautiful. It was a light grey colour, detached building set back away from the street. The entrance hall opened into a double height living space which looked bright and airy. They looked at each other and said simultaneously "this is nice!"

"Come along and see if you're both free. I promise it's even better in real life."

"Sure, we're both here at some point Saturday but we'll make it work."

"Now let's talk about your place. You sure you want to leave all the furniture and fixtures?"

"Absolutely" Neil replied. We'll pack up the personal stuff but the rest can stay. Wherever we end up, it's a fresh start."

They checked schedules and set a date for their own open house. They would both be at the hospital so would leave everything to their agent. She packed up her paperwork and tablet and stood to leave.

"Thanks for seeing us today" Audrey said, shaking her hand.

"My pleasure" she replied.

X

It took a while for Saturday to arrive. They were both so busy that they hadn't managed to view any if the listings the agent left. They had a two hour gap on the day where they could both leave the hospital. Neil was on his way into work, and Audrey on her way out. He passed by her office to collect her and arrived just as she was packing up her things. They were always professional in work but always greeted each other with a kiss when they swapped shifts. Sometimes they could go a few days without seeing each other properly so those stolen kisses got them through.

They headed out of the hospital and once they crossed the threshold, Audrey took his hand. He looked and smiled, this was exciting.

They arrived at the property a little after three and were greeted enthusiastically by their agent.

"I'm so glad you could make it. I was getting worried and it's been so busy" she said shaking Audrey's hand. "Would you like me to show you around?"

"No thanks" Neil said. "I think we'd like to check it out by ourselves first. We'll come find you if we have any questions."

"No problem" she replied. "Enjoy!"

The main living space was more spectacular than the brochure had suggested. It was bright and spacious and the way it was furnished made it feel like a safe haven. They checked out the remainder of the ground floor and found the usual amenities. Kitchen, utility, family room, powder room and nice size room they could use as an office. Upstairs, the master suite was beautiful. The whole place had a feeling of calm and tranquillity which they would both relish after their busy days at the hospital. There were a further two bedrooms and associated bathrooms which would be perfect for guests. The final room upstairs was a smaller room alongside the master suite. It currently contained a toddler bed and baskets of toys from the current occupants grandchildren. They stood in the doorway and looked in. Neil put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned in to him.

"It'd be nice if we managed to fill this room wouldn't it?" She said quietly. He drew her into a bear hug and kissed her temple. He didn't know what to say.

They stepped away and stood by the interior balcony looking down onto the living area.

"It's this too much? Just for us? Two people with all this space, it seems a waste?"

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"Yes, it's beautiful" she replied.

"You think we could be happy here?"

"Yes."

"Then let's do it. We spend most of our waking hours doing things for other people and I know we chose that path but it doesn't mean we shouldn't do something for ourselves. Let's go for it."

They went back downstairs and found the agent setting out another round of coffee and muffins at the breakfast bar. She looked up as they entered hand in hand.

"What did you think?"

"We'd like to make an offer" Audrey said.

"That's wonderful" the agent replied. "Let's get some paperwork sorted."

X

As expected, the condo sold quickly and six weeks later, on a sunny Thursday morning, they picked up the keys to their new home. They headed there first thing, Neil started work at 10am but they couldn't resist a first visit together.

Heading up the path to the front door, Audrey dropped his hand to unlock the front door. He stood close behind her as she fumbled with the keys and eventually there it was. A click, a squeak of a door hinge and a small squeal as Neil swept her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold.


	17. Chapter 17

Her first day in their new home was busy. There were boxes everywhere and she was standing by on a call from the delivery company. The place had no furniture to speak of and they hadn't had time to shop for much. They had a bed and a sofa set arriving today but decided other things could wait. There was a lot of space to fil but this was their home and they'd take their time to get it right.

She busied herself putting away crockery and pans in the cupboards, all the while thinking of what they we're going to eat tonight. Were there any good takeout's that delivered, she didn't want to give him food poisoning on their first night. She sent a quick text 'bring dinner please', and carried on. She headed upstairs to carry on. Clothes were hung up and toiletries put into bathrooms and the pile of empty boxes was growing by the minute.

The furniture delivery came and went so she got on and dressed their bed. Standing back to admire her handiwork, she grinned and took a run towards it, landing like a starfish right in the middle. Rolling over she just lay there for a while thinking how lucky she was.

An idea came into her head like a lightening bolt. Neil was always the romantic one, that sort of thing didn't come naturally to her so she was going to try and turn the tables. A romantic dinner for two on the first night in their new home. She was going to need to get some bits so she quickly got up, grabbed her keys and set out to find the nearest store.

X

Grabbing a cart she dashed around picking up what she needed. She was not a good shopper at the best of times and especially so when she hadn't planned it. She crossed back and forth across the store a number of times and finally decided she had what she needed, checked out and headed home.

She went about setting up her plan for tonight which took up a good amount of the rest of the day. Finally happy with her set up, she headed off to shower and get dressed in something a bit more tidy.

He arrived home around seven with his case in one hand and a takeout bag in the other. He elbowed his way in the front door dropping his bag and jacket on the floor and made a mental note 'we need a coat stand'.

"Aud!" He called. "Why are the lights off? Do we need to call someone?"

He was met with silence.

"Aud, you ok?" He called as he walked through into the living space and stopped dead in his tracks. The new sofa had arrived which looked great but that wasn't what had his attention. She stood there, bathed in the light from the all the little candles she had placed around the room. As he moved closer, he could see throws and cushions on the floor and crockery arranged as a setting for two.

"You've been busy" he said with a smile.

She looked at him, a little shy "I thought I could do something for you for a change" suddenly taking an interest in the bottom of her glass.

He placed the dinner down on the floor and took a few steps until he was right in front of her. "It looks amazing. You're amazing."

"Don't get used to it" she teased. "I just didn't think that dinner at the breakfast bar was quite special enough for tonight."

Neil put his hand to her forehead and frowned. "You don't feel warm, I don't think you have a fever" he teased.

She put her arms around his shoulders and kissed him long and slow. When they finally broke apart she just said "Asshat."

"Yes, but I'm your asshat. Now let's eat before it gets cold" he replied.

They settled themselves down, dished out the dinner and ate in a relaxed silence. The quiet broken once they'd finished eating and They took their plates to the kitchen. Audrey made to start washing up but he quickly put a stop to that.

"Do them tomorrow" he said taking her hand and dragging her behind him. He took his phone from his pocket, set some music to play and pulled her to him. They danced through a few songs slowing down further to get lost in kisses.

The last song faded out.

"Sit down" she said. Pushing him back until his knees hit the sofa. He sat heavily, pulling her with him in his arms. They just sat for a moment enjoying the embrace until Audrey tensed and made to sit up.

Neil tightened his grip around her "Where you going?" He asked.

"Nowhere, but I want to talk to you about something" she said seriously.

He looked at her face and sat up to pay attention.

She took a deep breath and began to speak. "The last year has been amazing with you..." she looked down at her hands.

"What's wrong?" He asked, she didn't look or sound happy at all.

She took a deep breath. "So, I know I've been hard work but you've always had so much faith in me. You've supported me, argued with me and loved me so much. I've gone through life not really caring what people think but that has changed. I care about what you think. You've changed me but only for the better in everything I do."

"Audrey?" He said, trying to catch her eye.

She lifted her head and look him straight in the eye. "I've never been so sure about anything in my life than I am about us. Neil Melendez, will you marry me?"

He looked at her with a stunned look on his face. He had not seen this coming. She wasn't the best at getting her feelings across so that small speech meant so much.

"Did you hear me Neil?"

"Yes."

"Yes, you heard me?"

"No, I mean yes. Yes I heard you. And yes I will marry you." He pulled her to him and wrapped her in a hug so tight that they became one.

"I've got something for you" he said, "wait here a minute"

She watched him go into the hall, heard a rustle and a thud and he was back. "Close your eyes" he said.

She did as he asked until she heard "Ok, open them."

She looked at him, then she looked down to what was in his hand. Her hands flew to her mouth as she registered the small box with a beautiful ring inside.

"Great minds think alike" she said with a smile.


	18. Chapter 18

They woke the next morning after their first night in their new bed, stretching and screwing their eyes closed against the morning light streaming in through the window. "We need to get drapes" grumbled Neil. Audrey smiled as he tucked his face into the crook of her neck.

"When is our next day off" she asked.

"Sunday and Monday this week coming, I think" replied Neil.

"Ok, we'll start then. Shop Sunday and recover Monday?"

"Sounds great" he said but she could tell he didn't mean it.

"We could get someone in to do it for us" she suggested. "Maybe we've bitten off more than we can chew with this 'do it all ourselves' idea. It could take ages and the are definitely other things I'd rather do with you than shop."

"Let's try, how hard can it be" Neil said with a smile "If it doesn't work out, we'll get help."

Audrey headed out to work about an hour later with her ring placed safely on a chain around her neck. Kissing her goodbye at the front door, he ran his fingers along the chain, and pulled the new piece of jewellery out of her collar.

"All ok? We aren't hiding this are we?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"No, I just didn't want to leave it behind but there are other people we need to tell first before people at the hospital."

"Ah, ok, point taken. I'm going to have to call my Mom later, she'll have felt a disturbance in The Force, she'll know something's happened" he teased.

Audrey looked at him and smiled "I'm so proud, a Star Wars reference. Looks like you might be a geek after all" she teased.

"Only to impress you" came the reply.

"Well it worked" she said kissing him. "See you later.

X

Just before lunch, Neil called his Mom to tell her the news. She answered on the second ring with "I hope you said yes!"

"Hi Mom, I take it you knew?"

"Oh yes, it was very exciting! Audrey called yesterday morning to check in and mentioned what she was hoping to do. Your Lita and I have been dying to call!"

"Ah so you've all been in cahoots, I'm getting a terrifying glimpse into my future here" he teased.

"Oh no son, we are just so happy for you. We won't be sticking our noses in. Well, not too much anyway! How's the new house?"

"It's great, definitely started out with a bang. We've got a lot to do though, not much furniture in yet."

"Well get a move in with that. We'll come and have a double celebration with you guys. Housewarming and engagement in one go!"

"Sounds like a good idea, Mom." The chatter continued for a little while and they said their goodbyes fondly with promises that they would see each other soon.

He grabbed a quick lunch and got to unpacking his share of the moving boxes. There was a lot that needed moving but he couldn't put things away as they didn't have the storage. 'This is going to get boring fast' he thought to himself.

He headed to the family room and decided he would set up the TV and sound system instead. Make himself useful in someway. As expected though, it didn't take long and he was back looking for things to do.

His cell rang from the kitchen so he jogged to catch the call before they rung off. It was Audrey. "Hey, all ok" she asked.

"Yeah, not to bad. We definitely need some furniture though. I can't unpack much today. You did all the easy stuff yesterday" he teased.

"That was not easy" she retorted. "That was the most terrifying thing I've ever done."

"Did you think I'd say no?"

"No, of course not, you've got it good, you know that" she joked. "It's just that you are the normal one in the relationship, I wasn't even sure I'd get the words out right."

"It made every word mean that much more. Your more about the actions, not the words, and trust me... that's more than fine. But to hear you say that stuff, that was something else."

"How was your Mom?"

"Well she didn't seem surprised at the news. Buy all accounts there was a little scheming going on."

"Well I wanted to check I wasn't committing some major social faux pas doing it this way. She was so excited, I'm surprised she didn't call last night!"

"It's likely that Dad confiscated her phone!"

She laughed at that. "I'm going to have to dash sorry, got stuff to do and going to meet Laura and Avery for a coffee later. She's coming in for a check up so thought it'd be a good chance to catch up."

"No problem, speak to you later on" he replied.

Her voice quietened and she almost whispered "I'm missing you today."

"The floodgates have opened" he teased. "Looks like those emotions are here to stay!"

"Shut up, asshat" was the response.

"Love you too" he laughed.

X

As they took turns being at home over the next couple of days, the next day they woke up together was the Sunday. There were no alarms set so they woke up naturally. Audrey rolled into his embrace and traced the antlers of his tattoo with her index finger. He got goosebumps at the sensation and allowed his hands to start to roam.

"Are you sure you want to go shopping? We could just stay here instead?"

"As tempting as that is" she replied rolling onto her back, "recovery day is tomorrow! Up and at it Melendez!"

"Yes Ma'am" came the unenthusiastic response.

They dressed, had breakfast and left the house. Neil still wasn't feeling the excitement but Audrey seemed more keen. They headed over to Bassett Home Furnishings and headed inside. Thirty minutes later, they had pretty much disagreed about everything. Colours, finishes, designs... everything. They were stood looking at the dining sets debating how many chairs they needed when they were approached by a salesperson.

"Hi, nice to meet you" he said.

"Hi" they replied in unison.

"Can I help you today? You seem a little undecided."

"Absolutely, yes please" Audrey replied. "We're can't agree on anything."

"That's not a problem, I can help with that. What kind of space are you trying to fill?"

"A whole house" answered Neil.

"Pardon?"

"A whole house" Audrey confirmed. "We moved in last week and all we have is a bed, sofa and some barstools in the kitchen."

"Wow" the salesman replied. "Well we can help you there, no problem. We offer a very popular design service, would you like to take a seat and we can take some details."

"Absolutely" they answered together.

Thirty minutes later, they left the store after giving them an idea of what they were looking for. They would come by in the week to measure up and put together some plans for them to view. They made their way to the car, smiles on their faces that they had made a good decision.

As Audrey went to open her door, she felt his hand cover hers. She turned into to him and saw a sullen look on his face.

"Sorry" he said. "I know much you wanted to do this ourselves."

"Are you kidding me, that was torture! I'd happily let someone else sort that out for us."

He smiled. "Now we get to have fun instead."

"Oh, I'm not so sure you'll find it fun" she said putting her arms around his neck and dropping a quick kiss on his lips. He raised his eyebrows and she continued "I'm calling in our deal Mister."

"What deal?"

"The epic yoga fail versus motorcycle ride deal."

"Oh no way, really? I thought you'd forgotten about that?"

"Nope! I've been back on the road for 4 weeks now, we're good to go."

"Great" he said with a grimace.

"Man up, Melendez. I bet you'll love it."

As it turned out, he didn't hate it. It took a while for him to relax into it, but he trusted her implicitly which made it easier. He loved being that close to her, especially in those form fitting leathers she wore, that made the whole experience much more fun.

They arrived home late that afternoon and as they pulled onto the drive, their next door neighbour waved from their front yard. They raised a hand back and Neil dismounted and headed towards the front door. Audrey pulled the bike into the garage, setting the door to close and followed on.

"First Contact" she mumbled into his back as she pushed him through the door.

He laughed "What's the rush?"

"I don't want to be dressed head to toe in leather the first time I meet my neighbors" she said closing the door quickly.

"I haven't got a problem with it" he teased as he stalked closer. "But I'll happily help you out of them" he said playing with the zipper.


	19. Chapter 19

While waiting for an appointment to see a Andrews the following week, Audrey continued to wear her ring on her chain. They sat down with him one afternoon to give him the news to which he seemed genuinely pleased.

"I'm happy for you both. There has been no change in your professional relationship throughout so I don't image the board will have any issues. Dr Lim, Dr Melendez, congratulations."

They thanked him and rose to leave. "I'll expect an invitation" he teased with a smirk on his face. They responded with a nervous laugh.

As the elevator doors closed after the meeting she turned to him. "Does he actually think we'd call it off if he objected?!"

"He loves the power, let him have it" he laughed. "We going to make an announcement or you just gonna put that thing on and see how long it takes Murphy to notice?"

"Let's do that. I bet you a dollar he announces it by the end of the day."

"Deal" he replied holding out his hand to shake on it, despite knowing it was a sure thing. She took his face in her hands and kissed him until they heard the 'ding' of the doors about to open. "Deal" she confirmed with a smile.

Audrey set off towards the ER as Neil headed towards the lobby to grab a coffee before heading back to his office. Before he could sit down, he got a page for a consult in the ER. He pulled his white coat back on and headed downstairs again.

He nodded at Audrey as he passed by and headed into a cubicle and she smiled back putting her finger to her lips in a shushing motion.

Then he heard it, loud and as clear as the nose on his face. "Dr Lim, you and Dr Melendez are engaged to be married. You are wearing a ring to show this. This is good news, congratulations."

"Thank you Dr Murphy" he heard. "Now let's focus here for a moment, this gentleman needs attention."

He finished his brief consult, called by an overcautious first year resident and made his way back upstairs. He got off the elevator on the third floor and held the door for a group of RNs on their way home after a long shift. As they passed him, he heard "Congratulations Dr Melendez, she's a lucky woman" from one of them, not sure which one, he smiled and mumbled "Thanks."

He smiled to himself as he approached the nurses station, 'news travels fast in this place' he thought to himself. He interrupted a hushed conversation by placing a file down harder than required. His opinion was, that if it couldn't be talked about normally, then it shouldn't be talked about in public. Besides, he'd heard a few words such as 'officially of the market' and 'she's not going to like it' and figured that it was just gossip.

X

Everything was falling into place today so they decided to try and meet for lunch which turned out to be a mistake. They sat at a table in the cafeteria and picked at their plates. It seemed to them as if they were in a goldfish bowl. Staff members mulling around on their break, plenty of staring and whispers which they imagined were about them.

They were about to give up when they were joined at their table by Dr Glassman.

"Is this seat taken" he asked knowing full well it wasn't.

"Not at all, please" Audrey replied.

"Well there seems to be a bit of a buzz around the place today. You two have been the subject of some serious gossip."

"Ah, it's not gossip if it's true" said Neil.

Glassman smiled "Congratulations. It's taken long enough" he teased.

They both looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You're telling me this competitiveness over the last decade hasn't been anything more than professional?"

"Never" Audrey replied. "Besides, I was never competing" she said nudging Neil in the side.

"Yeah, yeah" he said. "Old news."

Glassman continued "Well it's nice to have good news around here for a change. Although, you should probably know..."

He was interrupted by both their pagers sounding at the same time. They checked and made their apologies as they dashed off to find out what was going on.

X

With the days crisis averted, for the first time in a while they were due to finish their shifts at a similar time and they were looking forward to heading home together. He was just packing some papers into his case when he heard a light knock on the door.

He looked up and smiled. Audrey stepped inside and said "I think you owe me a dollar."

"No problem, come get it."

He perched in the end of his desk and she stepped into the space between his feet. "How do you want payment, cash or..." he started.

She kissed him. They weren't big on public displays of affection in work, apart from that one time. His hands came to her hips and he pulled her closer to him so they were touching in all the right places.

"Easy tiger" she teased. "This office is a little bit see through being made of glass and all."

"There is nobody here and I'm allowed to kiss my fiancée" he said nipping at her neck.

She pushed his shoulders back and he lifted his head to look into her eyes. "Kiss, not devour. Stop it!" He let out a laugh and dropped his hands back to the table.

Another tap on the door drew their attention away from each other. Neil's eyes widened which prompted Audrey to turn.

"Jessica" they said in unison.

"Neil, Audrey" she said. "I was just passing by to say hello but I guess congratulations are in order."

"Erm, thanks" Neil replied. "What brings you back to St Bonaventure?"

"Just a few meetings for a case I'm working on. Heck of a day to pick" she replied.

"Would you like to..." Audrey started.

"No thanks, I've got to go" she replied. "It's good to see you both happy" she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

"So that was..."

"Something" Audrey finished.

They stood for a moment, neither quite sure what to say. Audrey stepped back and Neil stood and carried on packing his papers, no more words were shared.

Walking to the elevator, he took her hand and as the door closed, she placed her head on his shoulder.

"That was uncomfortable" she said.

"It was" he agreed. "Explains a few things though" he said, as he detailed the conversation he overheard at the nurses station and Glassmans comment before he was interrupted by their pagers.

"You didn't know she was here?"

"Of course I didn't. I might have mentioned it if I had" he replied sharply.

"Excuse me for asking" she said standing up straight and taking her hand out of his grip.

"Really? We're going to fall out over this?" He asked.

Her shoulders slumped. "No, we aren't but maybe we should talk about it."

"At home?" He asked as the doors opened.

"Yeah, let's go home" she said taking his hand again.

They walked to the car in a quiet contemplation. He opened her door, as always but their usual kiss didn't come.

He sighed as he shut the door and walked to his side, disappointed this had tainted their day.

They drove home quietly, parked and went inside. Made a start on dinner and eventually sat down, ready to talk.

"Where should we start?" Neil asked.

"I'm not really sure. How did you feel today?"

"Well most of my day has been wonderful. Everyone has been happy for us, and seems to have been waiting for it" he encouraged. "What about you?"

"Same, it's been great. Everyone has been excited for us. It was just a bit of a shock to see her."

"But we're ok? You know I'm never going back there right?" Neil said.

"Yeah, we're ok. I know you aren't, but it just felt weird. How would you feel if Kashal just showed up?"

"I know, I know. I'd be pissed if he showed up too. At least he doesn't live in the same city, I suppose this was always a possibility."

"She's so close to Glassman too. I suppose I just figured she was 'gone'. Naive I know" she said.

"No, not really. It's part of the reason we moved isn't it. Fresh start and all? Listen..." he took her hand across the table, "the reasons Jessica and I separated aren't an issue with us. We've talked through it like adults and you trust me when I say you make me happy. You are all I need, anything... or anyone else is a bonus."

She smiled softly, "I know, and I do trust you when you say that. It's just unsettling and typical it was today" she said a little wryly.

"Well, from what she said, she might be around while this case lasts, or at least the meetings."

"That's true, won't be such a shock next time we see her though eh" she teased.

"Let's be honest, I think there was shock from all parties" he teased. "Come on, let's clear up and enjoy what's left of our evening."

X

Over the next couple of days, they continued to be lucky with their shifts, finishing around the same time. They arrived and left together every day and were getting used to the routine. Today was the last day of that, unfortunately. The coming week was full of meetings for Audrey which meant more 9 to 5 hours, whereas Neil had some scheduled procedures mixed in with shift work which was more unpredictable.

Neil was just returning to his office after an emergency which had taken place overnight. As he walked out of the elevator, he saw a familiar blonde head waiting in his office. He rubbed his eyes and checked his watch. 'Only 08.30' he thought, 'waaaaaaay too early for this.'

"Hey" he said announcing his arrival.

"Hi" she replied. "I didn't think you'd mind if I waited in here. I felt a bit awkward standing in the corridor."

"Sure, no problem. What's up, what do you need?" He asked.

"I just wanted to say hi, catch up a bit. Looks like things have changed quite a bit since I saw you last."

"Yeah, quite a bit" he replied with a smile.

"I went by the condo last week and the new owners said you'd moved in with your girlfriend. I suppose I didn't believe it would be Audrey Lim, all those little arguments when we first started dating where her name came up."

"Nothing ever happened, you should know I wouldn't do that" he said sternly.

"I know, I know. You're a good man. It seems I realised it too late" she said sadly.

He decided to cut to the chase "What do you want from me? Are you expecting something more here?"

"Honestly, I was. But seeing you together last night I know I don't stand a chance. I guess I came by to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry" he's said, not really knowing what else to say. They sat in an awkward silence.

"My meeting is at nine, so I'd best head over." she said as she stood to leave.

"Sure" he replied. "It was nice to see you. Not saying we'll be friends, but you don't need to be a stranger ok?"

"Thanks Neil" she replied. She left his office and waited for the elevator. The doors pinged and opened and out stepped Audrey. They nodded at each other and as the doors closed on her, Jessica leaned heavily against the back wall and let a tear slide down her cheek. She really had blown it, it really was over.

X

Audrey headed straight to Neil's office. He was sat back in his chair looking out of the window when she knocked in the door.

"Look Jessica, there's nothing..." he said as he spun his chair around to look at her. He let out a deep breath, got up from his seat and engulfed Audrey in a bear hug. "Hi" he whispered in her ear.

"You ok" she asked with concern.

"Absolutely fine" he replied. "I missed you last night."

"I missed you too, that bed is too big for one person" she teased. "What was that all about?" She asked nodding her head towards the door.

"She wanted to say goodbye, that's all. I don't think we'll see her again soon."

"Can't say I'm disappointed" she replied which earned her a small frown from him. "What" she said defensively. "I'll get Kashal to get in touch shall I, we can compare notes on failed relationships!"

He laughed out loud at that one. "Point taken" he said. "I'm heading out now, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we've got a few hours tomorrow so let's make the most of it."

"I like the sound of that" he said with a smile.

"That can wait" she said with a mock scold. "We've got to figure out this 'do' with our folks before I have to start screening my calls."

"Can't wait" he said with a smile.

"Really?!"

"Yeah really. As long as I'm with you, I'll sit through that."

"Kiss ass" she joked.

"Love you too" he replied.


	21. Chapter 21

They debated and juggled calendars so that dinner with their parents would be in a two weeks time. Two weeks before Christmas so there could be no confusion that this was the start of a festive tradition. They wanted to spend their first Christmas in their new home alone.

They had a 48 hour window in which to pull it off and deciding what they would eat was topic of contention. Both moms wanted to bring something to the table so it was decided that Audrey's mom would bring appetizers, and Neil's would do dessert. They would arrange the main course, which Neil would cook. Audrey agreed to help him out if he needed it and organize the place settings.

The two weeks passed quickly and tonight was the night. They had spent the day preparing dinner and everything was ready to go, they had the table set with the 9 places. As they stood back and surveyed their work Audrey said under her breath "told you we needed the bigger table." Neil squeezed her side in response which brought a squeal and a laugh as he took her in his arms.

"That's enough of that Melendez."

"We've got time" he argued.

"Not enough! They'll be here in an hour and we need to get dinner sorted."

"When did you become the sensible one?" Neil asked.

"Oh I didn't, but I don't want our parents arriving with us looking like we just got out of bed."

"Shame" he replied. "I like that look on you."

X

They were putting the final touches to dinner before it needed to go into the oven for the final stretch with 15 minutes to go before the family were due to arrive. Audrey took the controller and turned up the music. She grabbed his hands they started to dance around their kitchen to the rhythmic beats coming from the speakers.

As they moved, they got lost in the music. Kisses came flowing and hands started wandering until they were loudly interrupted by the door chime. They jumped apart as though they had received a shock and smiled at each other sheepishly.

"Impeccable timing as always" Neil joked as Audrey reached up to smooth his hair a bit from where her fingers had set it on end.

They headed to the front door, took a deep breath and opened it to the smiling faces of their families.

"Find it ok?" He asked his dad as he shuffled in the door behind the ladies.

"Sure, nice place you have here Son. You've done well."

"Thanks Dad."

The ladies had descended into the kitchen and were setting down their plates, chatting excitedly away about how they loved their house. The doorbell chimed again and Neil rushed off to answer. Gabi and her attendant had arrived to join the gathering.

As they headed in to the kitchen, Gabi walked straight into Audrey's embrace and gave her the flowers she had brought for her. Hand in hand, they went to find a vase while Neil started taking drinks orders.

Once everyone had a drink in hand, they took a mock vote to have a tour of the house before dinner. They headed off through the downstairs, pointing out bits and pieces and headed upstairs. They pointed out the rooms that Neils parents and Abuela would use tonight and headed back down to the hub of the house. As they past the front door, Neil and his dad ducked out to collect bags from the car and ran them upstairs.

Appetizers ready, they put the main in the oven and headed to sit down. They smiled as they noticed that Sofia had sat next to Audrey's mom, no doubt to conspire about wedding plans. Audreys aunt was sat by Gabi and was already chatting away.

"What could possibly go wrong" he whispered in her ear which earned him a roll of the eyes.

"Idiot" she replied. "You've tempted fate now!"

X

Despite their initial nerves, the dinner passed by without incident. After dessert, Neil's dad asked to make a toast promising to keep it short.

"Sure dad" Neil said. "Thanks."

"We have been blessed with two wonderful children who have set about making a difference in their own ways" he started. "Despite a little misunderstanding at the start, we've come to see exactly how happy you two are. Audrey, you bring out a different side to him which is wonderful. You are so in love that you can hardly tell where one of you ends, and the other begins."

He stopped to take a small sip from his glass. Then continued "I'm proud of you both, you're real life heroes doing what you do. I think I can speak for us all when I say how much we're all looking forward to this wedding. Please raise your glasses to Neil and Audrey."

"Neil and Audrey!" The rest of the table echoed as they leaned towards each other and kissed.

"Thanks Dad" Neil said as he took his seat again.

"No problem Son. I'm so very happy for you."

Dinner came to a natural end and Audreys Mom and Aunt headed out first, her mom had work early in the morning. They called a ride for Gabi and her attendant to drive them back to the home. She didn't always do well in new environments so they though they thought it best she didn't stay this time around.

Then they were down to five. It was all hands on deck to clear and sort the dishes into the washer and the family announced they were turning in for the night. Neil and Audrey were left alone finally. They looked at each other from opposite sides of the counter and grinned.

"Happy?"

"Happy" she replied.

"C'mere" he said and she walked around and into his arms. "Told you it'd be a breeze" he teased.

"It could get boring, this you being right aaaaall the time" she joked.

"Well that's just tough luck, you wanted to put a ring on it" he retorted kissing her nose.

They kissed again, and again as they got lost in sensations until they heard a small cough from the doorway. They startled and Neil dropped his head to her shoulder with a chuckle.

"Don't mind me" came the small voice from Abuela. "I just needed a quick drink before bed."

"Sorry Lita" Neil said with a smile.

"No need to apologise lovebirds" she teased. "I'll see you in the morning."

"We'd best head up too" Audrey said after she left. "Got to get a good breakfast on in the morning. Being the host with the most is hard work ya know!"

"More like you don't want to get caught making out in the kitchen again" he teased.

"Ah you figured me out" she replied sarcastically. "Let's see how quiet you can be under pressure Melendez" she whispered in his ear as she took his hand and led him up the stairs.


	22. Chapter 22

Next morning, they surfaced earlier than they usually would on a day off. Audrey wanted to put on a decent breakfast so they set an alarm for 7am.

Neil groaned into her neck as the buzzer sounded as they woke wrapped up in each other. Last night had been so intense that they fell asleep right where they collapsed. After his original misgivings about the whole thing, the 'my parents are down the hall' objection was quickly forgotten and the silence Audrey had insisted on made for a mind blowing night.

Audrey sprung out of bed like a coiled spring and headed off to the shower. Literally, two minutes later she returned towering her hair with one hand and pulling on a pair of pants with the other.

"What's going on?" He asked in disbelief. "What have you done with the Audrey Lim I know and love. The one who hates anything before 8am!"

"Let's move, Operation Breakfast is a go!" She said throwing a pillow at his head.

"Ok, go" he replied. "I can't cope with this right now, I'll be down in ten" as he grabbed the pillow rolled over and buried his head underneath it.

"Make it five" she countered as she pulled the sheets off the bottom of the bed on the way out of the door. She gave a laugh to herself hearing his whispered expletives.

X

As he arrived downstairs ten minutes later he was greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. He dropped a kiss on her shoulder as he reached around to get himself a cup.

"Morning," he said quietly. "We first up?"

"Yeah we are, got the coffee sorted and put some pastries into warm and just got this fruit to prep and I'm done" she said.

"They are going to think they're in a hotel if you're not careful. They'll be wanting to come back every weekend" he teased.

"We wouldn't do that" Sofia announced as she walked in. "You young people in love need your privacy" she said making Neil blush.

"Morning Mom, you guys sleep ok?"

"Such a good nights sleep. The bed in that guest room is so comfortable, your father won't get up yet! Your home is lovely, you've done such a good job filling it so far. Are you going to put up a decorations for Christmas?"

"We've not thought that far ahead" Audrey replied. "Most of the houses on the block are decorated already but we aren't going to be here all that much so it seems a waste."

"You're going away for the holidays?" Abuela asked, coming into the kitchen. She had only caught the tail end of the conversation.

"Unfortunately not, we'll be working for much of it. We do have a few hours together here and there."

"That's a shame" Sofia replied. "Couldn't you 'fix it' in your position Audrey?" She asked.

Audrey laughed "I absolutely could, but we said we'd cover as much as we could for the people who have kids to take the time off."

"Hopefully, one day, they can return the favour for you" Sofia said innocently.

Neil and Audrey exchanged a brief look. Sofia had been very mindful on the subject of children since the wedding weekend so they didn't pick her up on that one comment. They understood she was excited at the thought of it so couldn't call her out on that.

"What's that wonderful smell Audrey?" Abuela asked, changing the subject. "Are we being spoilt for breakfast too!"

Neil looked over and smiled "You sure are, nothing but the best for you Lita" he said.

"Your father had better hurry up, else he'll be having just crumbs" she laughed.

X

They sat and enjoyed a long breakfast together. The conversation flowed through many topics and eventually talk turned to wedding plans.

"Have you set a date?"

"Not yet, maybe in the spring."

"Have you looked at any venues?"

"Not yet, we'll go in the new year. We want to see places without the Christmas decorations up."

"Ah yes, good idea. What about a church? I know you don't go to one regularly but is there one around that will take you? You know, with your history?"

Audrey looked at Neil and raised her eyebrows.

"Ok Mom, let's pause the inquisition please. We've been busy and will be for a good few weeks yet. We'll start planning when we're ready."

"But..."

"No buts, we'll let you know. I know your excited but be patient, we will let you know as we go along, same as Audrey's mom. We're not going to rush this, we're going to get it right" he said smiling at Audrey.

"Sorry, sorry, you're right. It's all very exciting and I get carried away."

Audrey smiled "It's fine, I understand. Maybe when I've got to make some decisions I'm not sure on, you and my Mom could come along and help me out?"

"That would be lovely, thank you" Sofia said with a big smile. Neil leaned in and whispered "thank you" in her ear under the guise of kissing her cheek.

X

After breakfast was cleared away, the family made to head home saying they wanted to leave Neil and Audrey relax for the rest of their day.

As they stood on the front step waving them off Neil asked "What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing" she replied instantly.

"Nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing please. Being so excessively nice has almost burned me out. I need a rest before I have to be nice again tomorrow in work" she laughed.

"I can deal with that. Let's go do nothing" he said, taking her hand and leading her inside.

They spent the rest of their day just hanging out. They sat together, catching up on some reading, watching a movie or two and eating junk food. They chatted about wedding venues and made a list of ones to contact in the new year and Audrey even took a little look at some wedding gowns when Neil wasn't paying attention. They didn't speak much but were just happy to be around each other.

"Shall we get a tree?" Audrey asked out of the blue.

"Pardon?" He replied.

"Should we get a Christmas tree? It'll be a bit crappy not to be able to put our gifts under one. I mean, I don't wanna go crazy and decorate the yard and the roof and everything but a tree would be nice. And maybe a wreath on the door?"

He looked at her with a goofy grin "I think that's a great idea. Can we get a real tree though? I like the smell of the pine."

"Well who knew we could be so festive. Lets go pick one up in the next couple of days. We'll need to get trimmings too, and a star for the top."

"Alright Mrs. Claus, calm down or we'll have as grotto on our hands" he teased.

"Mrs. Clause? Really, that's your thing?" She teased right back.

He blushed for the second time today but recovered quickly. "Well I would say no to unwrapping that on Christmas morning" he said giving her a look.

This time it was Audreys turn to blush and she leaned into kiss him as a distraction "Best get some practice in" she murmured against his lips with a smile.


	23. Chapter 23

Two days later, after finishing work around the same time they decided to go shop for a Christmas tree. They headed to a local lot in Neil's car, parked up and headed in the gate.

"Wow! This is bigger than I thought it would be" Audrey said looking around.

"What were you expecting?" Neil asked. "Have you ever picked out a real tree?"

"Not really" she replied. "Christmas was never really a big thing for me and Mom. We had a crappy artificial one we dragged out every year. Real trees were too expensive."

"Gabi always loved Christmas so after her accident, Mom and Dad always pulled out all the stops for us. I think they realised how easy it would actually be to lose one of us and it hit them hard."

She looked at him as he spoke. He wasn't looking at her, he was staring at a beautiful Fraser Fir with a glisten in his eyes. He had never spoken directly about what happened to Gabi, all she knew was they were in an accident when they were younger. She took his hand and quietly said "this one looks good doesn't it? Let's get it."

Those few words broke him from his trance and he turned to look at her. A small tear rolled down his cheek but he smiled at her.

"Sorry about that" he said.

"Nothing to be sorry about" she replied putting her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. He buried his nose in her hair and she could feel him smiling against her.

"Look at you two, right under that mistletoe" came a voice through the fog of their emotions. They looked over to see an older woman pointing above their heads and then looked up. They smiled at her then focused back on each other. Her eyes flickered to his lips which were turned in a small smile, she looked back up and found him staring at her.

"I love you" she said.

He leaned in and kissed her, again and again. Probably a little too long for a kiss in a Christmas tree lot but right now they didn't care who was watching.

"I love you too" he said.

Like a switch went off, the bounce was back in his step and he was telling her to stay put and watch 'their tree' while he went to find the vendor.

The lady approached Audrey who was stood a little startled like a deer in headlights.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"Um, yes. Thank you, yes I'm fine" she replied. "Didn't realise that this would be such a big deal" she said to the woman. "I thought it was just a tree."

"Looks like a bit more than that to him bless his heart."

"Seems that way" Audrey smiled.

"I don't want to pry, but have you been together long? Is this your first Christmas together?"

Audrey looked, she wasn't usually the sharing type when it came to her personal life but this woman had something about her.

"No, it's our second" she replied. "But last year the relationship was very new and I was very unwell so this year is the first normal one. We bought a home together last month."

"Well, congratulations! You should really get yourself one of those" she said pointing at the ball of mistletoe. "From what a just saw, it'd make for a very merry Christmas" she teased.

Audrey blushed and started to apologise when the woman stopped her. "You remind me of me husband and I. We were a little late to the party too by the time we're figured it all out. But the years I spent with him were the best years of my life. I miss him" she said with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry" Audrey said, nothing else seemed enough. At that moment Neil came bouncing back with the vendor to claim their tree. As Audrey looked back to where the woman had been standing, she was gone. She overheard Neil arranging delivery for tomorrow morning and as the guy asked "anything else we can help you with?" she jumped in with a "yes please" to Neil's surprise.

"One of those please" she said pointing to the ball of mistletoe above them. Neil raised his eyebrows, gave a cheeky smile but said nothing, he knew better.

As they walked back to the car, she took his hand. To her surprise, he shook it loose and put his arm around her shoulder. She leaned in and placed her arm around his waist as they walked to the car in silence.

"Thanks for humoring me" he said as he opened her door.

"Always" she replied with a kiss and a smile.

X

Next stop on their list was Target for decorations and trimmings. They pulled into the parking lot and took a deep breath. Neither of them had imagined hitting the shops two weeks before Christmas for any reason. Let alone battling the crowds at a Target store for decorations.

They grabbed one of the last free carts and headed inside. Nothing could have prepared them for the bedlam they saw in front of them, not even working in a busy Emergency Room.

The were people everywhere, carts overflowing and the checkout lines were obscene.

"What were we thinking?" Audrey asked. "This is definitely not going to be as much as the tree lot."

"You're not wrong. Shall we get outta here, we'll look online at home."

"Thank goodness, let's go." They abandoned their cart and headed to the car breathing a sigh of relief as they shut the cart doors and took a moment to appreciate the silence.

They stopped by Audreys favourite food truck on the way home and picked up tacos for dinner.

Sat in the quiet of their own home after dinner, they fired up the tablet and started shopping. After a small debate on colour, and a few clicks later the online cart was getting full. They settled on reds and greens with a little gold thrown in and a wreath for the door. As Audrey finished up with the shopping details, Neil headed to the kitchen to fix them a drink. As he left the room, Audrey quickly added a few more items she had seen whilst browsing and checked out quickly before Neil came back.

Handing her a glass and sitting down he asked "all done?"

"All sorted, will be here day after tomorrow."

"Nice. Here's to Christmas shopping" he said raising his glass.

"Cheers" she replied with a smile.

X

Next morning, the tree arrived bright and early along with the stand and the mistletoe they ordered. They had it placed in the main living space near the fire, tipped the delivery man and sat back and stared at it.

"Not looking so good right now, is it?" Audrey said.

"Tomorrow will be better. We've got a few hours together tomorrow afternoon, want to decorate it together?"

"Absolutely" she replied. "But for now..." she said, grabbing his hands and pulling him to his feet. "This will have to do" she said giving him a nudge towards the mistletoe.


	24. Chapter 24

They had taken a few hours together to decorate their tree once all the parcels had arrived. It was looking very festive indeed. A wreath adorned their front door and then came the extras that Audrey had ordered. A couple of festive themed tumblers for their bourbon, a cushion or two and a garland for the fireplace.

"I've created a monster" Neil teased opening the last box and finding Nordic style bed linen inside.

"Shut up" she replied. "I'm embracing the Christmas spirit."

"C'mere" he said. "I'd rather you embraced me" he joked.

"Hang on" she said as she grabbed a parcel from the bottom of the last box and stashed it out of sight.

"What's that?"

"Nothing" she replied.

X

The two weeks leading up to Christmas had passed in a blur of meetings, surgeries and minor emergencies. However, in comparison to last years quarantine, things were much more manageable.

Christmas Eve they found themselves on opposite shifts so planned to spend an hour together in a diner just outside the hospital. They had previously tried spending this time in their offices or the cafeteria but they were continuously interrupted by everyone from their residents to Andrews, so they had found their own safe space.

Neil's routine surgery from the previous day had turned out to be anything but that. There were complications during and they were possibly going to have to operate again today. The patients family were understandably beside themselves and the whole situation was very intense, his residents were finding it challenging to placate them but were doing their best.

When they saw the family approaching him as he was on his way out to meet Audrey, they stepped in quickly. Browne and Reznick had been picking up a coffee when they saw the family making a bee line towards him and diverted themselves to take the hit. Everyone was aware that Lim and Melendez had taken on extra hours over the next couple of days so people with families could take a break over Christmas. They thought if they stepped in, it would allow them to have that precious hour together.

Neil noticed this and raised his hand subtly in thanks. He would be sure to say thank you in person later.

Sat next to each other in a booth at the back of the diner, they picked at their shared platter and sipped at their coffees.

"You going home now?" Audrey asked.

"Not yet, I need to speak to the family again. They just tried to catch me on the way out but Browne and Reznick ran interference."

"Any more complications expected now?"

"Hoping not, I should be able to get home for a few hours sleep before I'm due back in the morning" he said. "I'll miss you though."

"Let's book another trip" she said suddenly, changing the subject. "My turn to arrange it this time, end of February?"

"Sure, ok. Any reason in particular?"

"Quite a few really" she replied. "We missed our anniversaries, we've had a crappy Christmas and I miss you too."

"Anniversaries? Plural?"

"Yeah, of a bunch of things. The night we got together, the time we admitted feelings" she said using air quotes.

Neil laughed and added "Our first secret date? Making it official?"

"Exactly" she agreed. "Let's celebrate!"

"Sure thing, let's do it. I'll put my leave into Andrews this week. They shouldn't say no after the epic shifts we've pulled so far."

"I'm in charge this time remember?"

"How could I forget, my life is in your hands."

"Safest hands you know" she replied leaning into him. Her put his arm around her and they sat together quietly watching people coming and going until it was time to make a move themselves.

They headed back to the hospital hand in hand and for a change, they didn't let go as they entered the building. They crossed the lobby and stood waiting at the elevator bank and he heard his name being called.

"I'll come say goodnight before I go" he said pulling her in for a quick kiss before letting her hand go and turning to greet his patients family.

X

Several hours later, he had not been by to say goodnight. Whilst taking to the relatives earlier, he had received an emergency page and had to take the patient back into surgery again. Around 9pm that night, he was confident that this operation had been a success. Dr Murphy had made a controversial but brilliant call during the final procedure which had saved the patients life, Neil was sure of that.

Once he had finished all his paperwork for the day it was nearer to 1am so he wandered from his office to look for Audrey. He found her in the Emergency Room reviewing a patient who had just been brought in with radiating chest pain.

He waited at the nurses station for her to finish her assessment. "I hope that's not another one heading my way" he said as she approached him.

"Not tonight, don't worry" she said putting her hand on his shoulder. "You ok?" She asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'll be ok. Could do with a few hours sleep" he replied. "Not a lot of point heading home now, got to be back here in 5 hours."

"Why don't you go sleep in the on-call room. There should be space setting as we're running on skeleton staff."

"I might just do that, it'll be more comfortable than the sofa in my office that's for sure" he replied.

He kissed her on the cheek and headed off to find somewhere to rest his head.

A couple of hours later, during a lull in admissions, she decided to go check on him. He was fast asleep on one of the bottom bunks right where she thought he would be. She hunkered down next to him and looked at his peaceful face. 'He is handsome' she thought, all his worry lines from the day had gone and he looked younger. She checked her watch, there was another 3 hours before she was due to head home so she kicked off her shoes, nudged his side and he automatically moved to give her space.

She curled into his side, rested her head on his chest and headed off to sleep as he sighed contentedly.

Two hours later, her pager sounded startling her awake. Neil stirred and kissed her head.

"Morning, Merry Christmas" he mumbled into her hair.

"Merry Christmas, love. Looks like we get to wake up together Christmas morning after all" she replied.

"This place has its perks" he said stretching. "I'd best go get changed and check on my guy. I'll be home tonight in time for dinner. We'll exchange gifts then yes?"

"Absolutely, it'll be perfect" she replied pulling on her shoes.

"Love you Lim."

"Love you too Melendez."


	25. Chapter 25

As promised he arrived home in time for dinner around 6pm. He shuffled in the door, dropping all his bags just inside and moving to hang up his coat.

"Hi" he called out.

"Hi, I'm in the kitchen" was the response.

He followed her voice and found her throwing a tray into the oven. The breakfast bar was set for dinner and a bourbon was waiting for him in his new tumbler.

"Had a good day?" Neil asked taking a sip.

"Quiet" she replied. "I visited with Mom this afternoon, she says hi by the way. Have you spoken to your folks?"

"Oh yes, this morning. And I called Gabi this afternoon. Sounded like the party was getting wild there so I didn't keep her long" he laughed.

"Come on, dinner will be about an hour" Audrey said, taking his hand. "Let's go open presents."

"Sounds great."

X

Sitting on the floor next to their tree, Audrey hand him a parcel. "From your Mom" she said.

"I can tell you now, a new shirt" he said.

"You're no fun! Open it and see."

He held up a new shirt with a shrug and a smile. "Nothing if not predictable" he said. "What did you get?"

She opened her parcel and stifled a laugh. She held out her new shirt which was a very similar colour and smiled. "See, predictable" he teased. "Here, this is from Gabi" he said handing her a small bag. Inside was a hand painted glass panel with a small suction cup to attach to a window. Gabi had painted the flowery scene herself and Audrey decided it would go right by the kitchen sink so she could see it every day.

Neil received a men's grooming set with one of his favourite scents. "I think you're the new favourite" he teased.

"This one is from me" she said to him. "I know we said we weren't getting much and we'd take a trip instead, but you had to have something."

"Thank you, I kinda did the same. Here is yours" he said dragging a box out from the back of the tree where it had been well hidden.

Neil pulled at the bow and removed the lid. Inside was a beautifully soft, black leather jacket. "I love it" he said as he stood to try it on. "Fits perfectly and smells amazing, thank you so much" he said pulling into a hug. "Your turn."

She slowly pulled at the bow, lifted the lid and gave a laugh. Inside was a new bike jacket, one she had been looking at for a while but couldn't bring herself to buy it. "It's perfect" she exclaimed. "How did you know?" She asked.

"You don't clear your browser history" he joked.

"Thank you so much" she said kissing him soundly. "Sit there a minute, I have one more present for you" she said as she left the room.

He sat, waiting patiently and started fiddling with the packaging on his gift from Gabi. He removed the lid and gave a long sniff and startled slightly when he heard a cough designed to get his attention. He looked up and had no words. Audrey Lim stood in the doorway in a cute little Christmas outfit. Not something obscene, but heck of a lot less than she normally wore around the house.

His eyes took in every detail from her toes, up her long, slender legs and continued upwards and stopped until he heard "Hey mister, my eyes are up here" she teased.

He grinned, apologised and got to his feet. She started to feel self conscious and started waffling "I know it's stupid."

"Definitely not stupid" he said as they stood toe to toe.

"I feel like an idiot."

"You look... hot" he replied shuffling closer again but not actually touching. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Very" kiss "very" kiss "hot. How long until dinner?"

"Long enough" she replied with a slow smile. He grinned at her reply and put his hands on her hips, and guided her until her back was against the wall. He rained kisses on her like her life depended on it which left her struggling to catch her breath.

"Come with me" he said taking her hand and leading her to the sofa. He sat down heavily, pulling her with him so she sat astride him.

"I'm going to take my time unwrapping this present" he teased.

"Merry Christmas handsome" she replied as her thoughts drifted away.

X

"So that was..."

"Something else. That was the best present ever. Thank you."

"I think I got my fair share of fun out if it too" she teased.

"Yeah, but I know how far out of your comfort zone that little outfit took you. That's what's special, that you did that for me" he said smiling at her.

"Well you can clear the dishes tonight if you're that grateful."

"I'll clear the dishes for the rest of the year after that!"

X

After a great dinner, they cleared away the dishes and settled down in front of the television with a drink to catch up on some shows they had missed over the last week or so. Audrey was back in work at 8am the next day so they had a couple more drinks and headed to bed.

"I've had a great day, you know."

"Really? We hardly saw each other though?"

"Yeah really, I know I wasn't actually here for most of it. But the bit we had together was amazing. And next year will be even better."

"First one as husband and wife" she said.

"Damn straight Mrs. Melendez."

"Ha, I don't think so Mr. Lim!"

"Can't wait" Neil countered. "It'll be a great year."


	26. Chapter 26

The next couple of weeks of the New Year were a flurry of excitement. They had appointments with wedding venues in between their hours at the hospital and had a meeting at their local church to discuss options for their ceremony.

Their requirements for a venue were simple. Nothing ostentatious, a calm environment and some rooms for travelling family and friends to stay if they wanted. They were determined to keep it fairly low key, they had always been in agreement that their private lives were to be relaxed as possible to counteract their hectic work lives and their wedding was to be no different.

On their fifth appointment in almost as many days, they realised this wasn't going to be so easy after all. These places were all booked years in advance and they were looking at having to wait almost two years to get married.

"This is getting annoying" Audrey said as the most recent coordinator was looking through the calendar.

"We can book something in for May 2021?" she suggested as she looked up from her screen. That earned her a frown from both of them.

"Sorry" Neil said, rubbing his temple. "We were just hoping it'd be sooner. Looks like we're going to have to wait."

"Can you wait here just a second?" She asked.

"Sure" Audrey replied. "We've got time."

The coordinator headed out of the room with her tablet in hand and they sat and waited. Neil sipped at his coffee and Audrey glanced at her emails on her cell.

Ten minutes or so, she returned with a fresh pot of coffee and sat back down.

"I've got something you might be interested in?"

This focused their attention immediately and they sat forward in their seats.

"We're listening" Audrey said.

"We confirmed a cancellation this morning. The couple who booked it had to postpone because of illness in the family."

"Riiiiight?"

"We've offered it out to couples on our waiting list but it has been declined due to the short notice."

Audrey started to shift in her seat.

"It's on February 28th."

"Six weeks time?" Neil asked.

"Yes, six weeks time" she confirmed.

They looked at each other, back at the coordinator and back at each other with a smile.

"Let's do it" they said in unison. "Let's get married."

"Great" she replied. "I figured you might say that and that we'd need the extra coffee" as she reached forward and poured them all a fresh cup.

X

They left the venue a few hours later having arranged almost the whole event. They had called the priest while they were there to ask for the date and promised to still come in for the pre-cana. Those meetings would usually be spread over a few weeks but with the tight timescale they were working with the priest agreed a favour for Neil, they would do a condensed session over one day. The rehearsal dinner, cocktail hour, dinner settings and flowers were all arranged for the previous couple so with a few tweaks here and there, they were as good as ready. This left them with just the more personal aspects like outfits and rings and of course, send out invitations.

"My Mom is going to go nuts" Neil smiled.

"I doubt that very much" Audrey replied. "She's been waiting for this day for a while now. She'll be beside herself!"

"I mean good nuts. I'm considering doing it on Skype so we can catch the reactions" Neil joked.

"That would be amazing. We have to do that. Let's go break the news!"

X

Early that evening, before dinner, they set up their Skype and dialled in to their parents. Audrey's Mom popped up first with Neil parents joining them seconds later.

"Hi you two" shouted Sofia.

"Mom, you don't need to shout, we're can hear you fine" Neil replied with a smile. He had been trying to teach his parents the benefits of Skype for the last couple of months and it had been a challenge. From Sofia not wanting her face on the 'interweb' to Ben thinking that they could now be hacked by international criminals trying to steal their identities it was continuous entertainment.

Audrey's mom was more tech savvy and was patiently waiting for the activity to calm down.

"We've got news" Audrey started slowly. "We've booked a date" she added quickly as she saw shocked looks begin to appear on their parents faces.

"Oh wonderful, that's great news" said Su. "We'll get started on the dress shopping."

"Well you'll need to do it soon, we've got six weeks" Neil said.

"What!" was the unanimous reply.

"Six weeks. February 28th, save the date!" Audrey said with a smile.

"Wow, that's soon. Are you pregnant Audrey?"

"Mom, Jeez! No! Sorry Sofia" she said with a grimace. "They had a cancellation so it was in six weeks or we wait two years."

"We've spoken to the priest in a little church nearby and he's happy that Audrey has had an annulment for reasons we don't need to be specific about right now. We'll attend pre-cana in the next couple of weeks and we're are good to go" Neil stated.

"I'm so excited for you both" Sofia said with tears in her eyes.

"This will be wonderful" added Su. "My beautiful girl is getting married" she smiled.

"Now you boys need to shoo, we need to talk."

Audrey looked to Neil, a little concerned.

"No need to worry love, just girly wedding stuff. I'm sure you'll love it" he teased as he kissed her in the cheek and headed to the kitchen to start dinner.

X

Twenty or so minutes later, Audrey appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"I told them I had to go, dinner was ready" she said walking into his arms.

"That bad?"

"No, no, they're just excited. I'm just glad we got most of it done today or I think they'd move in and "help out"" she exaggerated with air quotes.

"It'll be fine. Shortest wedding prep list ever. Speak to Andrews, guest list, clothes, rings, churchy stuff and done. Easy" Neil said.

"I'll be reminding you of that in five weeks and six days time, shall I?"

"Absolutely, no sweat" he replied. "Let's eat and start making a list of people we like" he teased.

They took their plates to the breakfast bar to eat their dinner when "Our trip" Audrey exclaimed suddenly. "Our multi-anniversary trip was meant to be end of February!"

"Well lets push it back, make it our honeymoon instead? Bit of luxury and a bit of adrenalin will be a perfect mix, just like us."

"Are you going to be a sap for the next six weeks? I don't think I can cope" she joked.

"Got to start practicing lines for or vows, you know."

"Crap" she replied. "That's not one, don't worry" she said with a laugh.


	27. Chapter 27

The next six weeks was a flurry of excitement. Audrey admitted that the dress shopping had not been as painful as she was expecting and the guest list was simple. Close family and friends were all very excited to received invitations to what was dubbed "the wedding of the year."

There had been one minor panic when Audrey decided that writing their own vows was 'stupid' and 'who really says this stuff anyway'.

"It's fine" Neil assured her. "Just write what you think and feel" he said.

"Not sure your family will appreciate my x- rated thoughts about you read aloud in church" she teased.

"Ha, best not" he replied with a laugh.

They held their bachelor and bachelorette parties on the same night at restaurants on the opposite sides of town. And the night of the rehearsal dinner was upon them before they could turn around twice.

There were a number of heartfelt toasts, mostly focusing on 'what took them so long' and 'it's about time' from the people who had known them the longest. There was some gentle ribbing about the golden days at the start of their residencies which had them squirming in their seats and the evening just flew by.

At the end of the night, they took some time to themselves to say goodbye to each other. They would spend this last night apart. Neil was staying the night at the venue because Audrey felt more comfortable getting ready at home so he walked her to the car she had waiting.

"I'm going to miss you tonight" she said.

"I'll miss you too" he said holding her close. "But tomorrow is going to be amazing. I can't wait to marry you."

"You sure you want to spend the rest of your life with this ball and chain" she teased.

"No doubt" he replied.

X

Next morning Audrey woke with a jump to the sound of their doorbell ringing incessantly.

"What" she barked, opening the door to a startled delivery driver.

"Ms. Lim?" He asked nervously. When she nodded the affirmative, he handed over the large bunch of flowers he was holding.

"Thank you Ma'am" he said making a hasty retreat.

After closing the door, she took a moment to think 'I'm getting married today!' before heading into the kitchen. The flowers were beautiful, the card was written by Neil.

'Love you Lim, I'll tell you why later xx  
Look inside for your something new.'

She looked gently between the stems and found a small box. Inside was a simple, teardrop diamond necklace on a shining chain. She held it up, it would be perfect to wear today.

Breaking the no contact rule she sent a quick message to say thank you then looking up at the clock on the wall, she thought 'best get dressed'. Mom, Laura and Avery would be arriving for lunch and she had lots to do.

X

Neil woke to a knock on his hotel room door. He answered to find a porter with a room service tray loaded with breakfast.

"I think you have the wrong room, sorry. I didn't order room service."

"Ah, it was ordered for you Sir by a Ms. Lim. Here is a note for you" he said as he pushed the trolley in through the door.

"Thanks" Neil replied, tipping the young man.

He sat and poured a coffee before opening the note.

'Last chance to make a run for it! Looking forward to seeing you later, love. Here's a little something to make sure you show up on time.'

He lifted the tray to see a plate loaded with breakfast and a small parcel wrapped with a bow. He pulled gently and popped the box open to find a beautiful Rolex Datejust 41 inside. He let out a low whistle of appreciation and grabbed his phone. 'She won't mind me breaking this rule' as he went to send a quick message. On seeing hers, he smiled and sent a quick reply.

X

This was it, he was as ready as he was ever going to be. He was stood at the front of the church in his tux, rocking on his heels and fussing with the cuffs of his shirt.

"You a bit nervous there mate?" Adam asked as he stepped up to straighten Neils tie. His Best Man had known him since his early twenties when they met in college and had been close ever since. He had stood by Adam ten years ago when he married his college sweetheart and their children would shortly be walking down the aisle in front of Audrey.

"Not nervous, just... nervous" he replied with a grimace.

"You'll be fine, it's always been Audrey. You just needed to get your head out of your ass to realise it."

That comment earned him a raised eyebrow from the priest standing next to them and he muttered "sorry Father" with a nervous smile.

He heard a click from the back of the church as the door opened and he turned on a pin. He let out a breath he didn't take he'd been holding when he saw it was late arriving relative whispering their apologies.

"Yeah mate, your nervous as hell" earning him another frown from the priest.

The door clicked again and this time he turned more slowly and stood in the doorway were two beautiful little flower girls. Adams daughter held baby Averys hand and they started to walk very slowly. They were followed by Gabi who wore the biggest smile he had ever seen. And then... then came Audrey.

Arm in arm with her mother she looked down the aisle and locked eyes with Neil. He heard Adam whisper "Breathe" in his ear and he was lost.

She looked like she was gliding towards him, floating on air. She looked more beautiful than ever, her dress was perfect and you could tell that she loved it too. As she arrived next to him, he whispered "hi." He was to scared to try and say anymore in case the words didn't come.

They stood side by side, going through the ceremony and then it was time. Time to face each other to exchange vows and rings.

He took her hand, took another deep breath and looked straight into her eyes. "You are my best friend and one true love." She smiled widely at that. "There is still a part of me today that cannot believe that I'm the one who gets to marry you. I love you because you make me proud. Because you are adventurous and happy. I will take your love to give me hope, give me joy, and make me a better man. I promise to remember that neither one of us is perfect. But strive to remind myself of the ways that we are perfect for each other. You are the love of my life and my soul mate. Just as I give you my hand to hold today, I give you my heart, my faith, my life. I choose you today. And I would choose you again tomorrow. I would go on choosing you the day after, and every day for the rest of our lives Audrey Lim. I love you."

He slid the simple gold band onto her finger and smiled. He raised his hand to her cheek to wipe away a small tear which had escaped.

"Wow" she said. "How do I follow that?"

She looked down at their hands joined together and found a wave of confidence.

She started to speak with a slight shake in her voice. "You know me better than anyone else in this world and somehow still you manage to love me." He let out a chuckle. "You have made me feel more loved than I ever thought possible. Today, I give you all that I am, and all that I have. You are my best friend. I love you with all my heart and stand here before all of our friends and family, sharing the happiest day of my life. And even though I'm unsure about most things in life, I am certain that I love you and will continue to love you forever. Thank you for always being kind, loving and supportive of me. Thank you for always telling me I'm beautiful and being so proud to call me yours. Thank you for loving me completely, and for giving your heart to me. It was always you Neil, I love you."

She slid the gold band onto his finger and breathed a sign of relief.

Fully focused on each other, the priest cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Sorry" they said together.

"I've only got one more line here" he said with a smile. "Neil and Audrey, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

They beamed at each other, and as applause echoed in their ears as they shared their first kiss as Mr and Mrs Melendez.


	28. Chapter 28

They stood outside the function room alone, savouring the peace and quiet. Their guests were all inside waiting for the introduction of the new couple.

"I've been dreading this part" Audrey confessed. "Everyone is going to be looking at us."

"I hate to break it to you, but they've been looking at us all afternoon" Neil replied.

"But this is different, we have to dance with everyone looking at us. Just us."

"It's a couple of minutes, just look at me and you'll be fine."

"I know, I know" she said leaning into him. "Once this bit is done, I'll be fine."

The door opened and they heard the announcement from inside "May I please have your attention as we welcome the new Mr. and Mrs. Melendez! Please join me in congratulating the happy couple!"

As a round of applause broke out and he took her hand, leading her through the tables to the centre of the dance floor. They turned to face each other and the gentle fist notes of How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding came through the sound system.

'How long will I love you  
As long as stars are above you  
And longer if I can  
How long will I need you  
As long as the seasons need to  
Follow their plan'

The rest of the words faded into the background as they took these couple of minutes to focus on each other. Eyes locked, they swayed gently around blocking out any thing that could be a distraction.

As quickly as it started, the song came to an end, there was another round of applause and they took their seats for dinner.

X

After dinner came dancing. The band was doing a great job keeping the dancefloor full and it seemed everyone was having a great time. The music was a mixture of all genres and the guests all seemed happy.

A couple of hours in, their first guest approached to say their goodbyes and Audrey was disappointed to see it was Laura. Avery would not settle in her stroller and she was staying to feel self conscious at dealing with a noisy crying baby.

"Pass her here, go have a drink together before you go" Neil said. As he held out his hands, Avery leaned towards him and Laura smiled a thank you as he took her off to dance.

"You've married a good man there" she said to Audrey as they watched Neil pulling silly faces and making Avery giggle.

"Oh, I know that" she replied with a slightly wistful smile.

"It'll be your turn soon" Laura said nodding towards them.

"Hoping so. Let's grab another drink" she said heading to the bar.

A few songs later, they watched as Neil slowly rocked at the edge of the dancefloor with Avery in his arms. She had stopped fussing as soon as he had taken her and now her head was on his shoulder and her eyelids heavy. As the song came to an end, he walked back over to Audrey and Laura.

"Where do you want her?" He asked smiling.

"Thanks so much Neil" Laura replied. "Just in her stroller here should be fine. We'll hang out a while longer now" she said.

"Perfect."

X

As the night started drawing to an end Neil was looking for Audrey for some more guests wanted to say goodbye.

He found her out on the veranda, standing looking out over the grounds with a pensive look. A few of their wedding party were downstairs at the outside bar, sitting around under the heaters and enjoying the fresh air.

He walked up behind her and put his hands on the railing next to hers to trap her in place. She looked down, saw their hands with the matching gold bands and the smile returned.

"Hey wife" he whispered as he kissed her neck.

"Hey husband" she replied leaning back into him.

"You ok?" He asked. "You looked quite serious there."

"I'm fine. Just having a think" she said as she turned to face him.

"Anything I should know?"

"Nope" she replied. "Don't worry your pretty little head" she teased.

"Well you married this pretty boy" he replied with a smile. "But if you need a moment, I can go wait inside. Last couple of days have been quite full on."

"No, no stay here. Enjoy the quiet with me for a few minutes" she said as she leaned in to kiss him.

He kissed her back, melting into each other. The kisses deepened, Neil pulled her closer and her arms snaked around his neck. His hands lowered to her hips and he dropped his head to kiss her neck right on that spot she loved. She put her head back to give him more access and ran her fingers into his hair to keep him in place.

Suddenly, a noisy couple burst through the veranda doors and startled them. As the couple mumbled their apologies, Neil and Audrey smiled.

"Ok, we should get a room" she joked as she gently smoothed his hair back into place.

"Let's get on with saying goodbye to our guests, then I'm all yours" he replied with a mischievous smile.

She led him back inside to the greeting of "There you are! Where have you been" from Sofia. A few family members were heading home and wanted to say goodbye.

"Outside, making out with my wife" Neil quipped earning him a smack on the arm from his Mom but a wink from his Lita.

He grinned at Audrey who had blushed at his comment and he leaned in and whispered "That should get them moving quicker."

X

A couple of songs later, Audrey was dancing with her Mom. Her father had been gone a long time now, and her Mom never remarried so it was important for them to have these moments together.

"I'm proud of you, you know" Su said.

"Mom, I got married. I didn't win a Nobel Prize."

"I know, but take a compliment please. I know it wasn't easy for you growing up without your father but I'm so proud of what you've become and he would have been too."

"Mom, stop it, you're gonna make me cry!"

"Sorry love, but I had to say it at some point. I love you sweetheart."

"I love you too Mom" she replied holding her close.

X

An hour later, after seeing their parents out, they were down to a handful of guests who were still thoroughly enjoying the music and the bar.

"We can leave this lot to it can't we?" Audrey asked. "I doubt they'll cause too much trouble."

"That keen, eh?" Neil teased.

"Yes, yes I am. I want my hot new husband all to myself. Is that a problem?"

"Absolutely not. Please lead the way" as she took his hand and led him upstairs.


	29. Chapter 29

They couldn't go on honeymoon straight away, it wasn't booked until the following week. Because of the short notice of the wedding itself, other staff members were already on leave that week so for the meantime, they had to return to work. The only good thing about that was that Andrews had allowed them to synchronise their shifts a little so they could spend some more time together. Maybe he had a heart in there somewhere they joked.

They arrived Monday morning to congratulations being voiced from every direction. Thanking everyone as they passed by, they were relieved to reach the respite of their offices.

"I didn't realise we were so popular" Neil joked.

"You are, I'm Chief Ogre remember" she laughed.

"Very true" he agreed earning himself a clip. "But your my ogre, don't forget that" he said trying to save himself.

She smiled "You're cute when your flustered. Have a good day Dr Melendez, see you later" she said kissing him.

"You too, Dr Lim. See you for lunch maybe?"

"Maybe, see you later."

X

The day started out quite mundane. Neil had a scheduled bypass surgery to repair and replace valves for an elderly lady. Her family was supportive and the surgery considered a success. Neil was happy with her post-op recovery so far so he headed off to find Audrey for a late lunch.

He found her just finishing up a consult in the Emergency Room. She had diagnosed acute appendicitis and the teenager was being admitted for an appendectomy as soon as the paperwork was finished.

"Ready for lunch?" Neil asked.

"Absolutely, I'm starving" she replied finishing the chart and filing it at the nurses station.

As they turned to leave, they heard a commotion coming in through the main door.

"Somebody help him, please. He's gone blue, he's not breathing, help us!"

They turned to see a young couple running through the door with a small child in their arms. He looked no more than a few weeks old.

Their instincts took over and they got to work immediately. Taking the baby and setting him down gently on the nearest trolley, they started their assessment.

"He is breathing, very shallow breaths though, its cyanosis. His blood isn't getting enough oxygen. How old is he? What's his medical history?"

They fired questions at the couple in quick succession but they stood there like deer caught in headlights, not saying anything.

"Hey, hey!" Audrey shouted at them, clicking her fingers to get their attention. "What's going on? Focus!"

They startled and began to speak. "He's seven weeks old, his name is James. He's been fine until today."

"Have his post natal checks been ok?"

They looked at each other "We haven't had any, they are too expensive and we don't have coverage. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Ok, calm down" Neil said. "We'll treat him and figure this out."

"Thank you, thank you so much" the mother sobbed.

X

Hours later, lunch break abandoned, they had a diagnosis of an atrial septum defect. The baby had a hole in his heart and due to lack of pre and post natal care it hadn't been picked up. They handed the case off to the pediatric surgery team to take it the rest if the way. The parents headed to the waiting room and Neil and Audrey headed to the locker rooms to get ready to go home.

In the men's locker room, Neil ran into Shaun. He congratulated him on the save of the baby but Neil could tell he had something else to say.

"What is it Dr Murphy, you are desperate to ask me something? What do you want to know?"

"You and Dr Lim got married on Saturday didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Why is she still being called Dr Lim? Shouldn't she now be Dr Melendez too?"

Rubbing his temples he tried to think of an answer that would stop follow up questions after such a long day.

"She is Mrs. Melendez, but we decided she'd stay Dr Lim at the hospital to avoid confusion of there being two of us. If Dr Melendez is needed, I'll show up. Make sense?"

"Very sensible choice Dr Melendez. Thank you."

"No problem Dr Murphy. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Dr Melendez."

Audrey was waiting for him outside the locker room checking her emails on her phone "You took your time" she said.

"Sorry, was explaining the whole Dr Lim / Mrs Melendez thing to Shaun before he burst with curiosity."

"Was wondering how long it'd take him" she said with a smile. She was proud of how much Shaun had learned over the last couple of years. His social skills and awareness were improving all the time.

"So, seeing our lunch date was a bust, want to get dinner?" Neil asked.

"Yes please, and drinks after today."

"Let's go then, your chariot awaits" he said and dressed in their civvies, they headed out.

X

Towards the end of the week, Audrey was handing over the open surgical cases to Dr Andrews for him to oversee for the duration of their vacation. She was very pleased to see Baby James was recovering well from his surgery and no further intervention was needed. They were expecting him to make a full recovery.

She left the hospital that evening with a skip in her step. 'Hawaii, here we come' she thought. They were due to fly out tomorrow, but due to their busy week, they hadn't finished packing. That was planned for tonight.

"Hi honey, I'm home" she called as she walked through the entrance hall.

"Hey, up here" she heard a voice call from upstairs.

She kicked off her shoes and trotted upstairs to find him. He was in the guest room with two cases set on the bed casually throwing items in as he walked back and forth from the master bedroom.

"Don't go packing too much" she quipped. "I'm not intending on wearing much over the next ten days!"

He stopped with his mouth fallen open "Who are you and what have you done with Audrey Lim" he teased.

"Audrey Melendez to you!"

"Sorry, it'll take a bit of getting used to" he said with a grimace.

"That's ok, by the end of our honeymoon, I'll have you saying it over and over again" she said with a soft smile.


	30. Chapter 30

Their flight to Hawaii was uneventful, just as they hoped. They landed in Honolulu and got their connection for their first few days of relaxation on Lanai.

Advertised as a blissful escape, they were booked at the Four Seasons. After check in, where they received beautiful orchid lai, they headed to their room, the porter would follow along with the bags.

"Wow, this is fancy" Audrey whispered as they waited for the elevator.

"I knew it would be nice, but this is something else" Neil agreed.

Their room was beautiful. As they entered, the first thing that caught their eye was the view overlooking the impossibly blue sea, they could see for miles. There was a bottle of complimentary champagne waiting for them which was perfectly chilled and a platter of fresh fruit. The enormous bed dominated the room and was decorated romantically which made them smile.

"Those rose petals are going to get everywhere" she teased.

"Let's see, shall we as he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and kissed her. They were interrupted by a tap on the door. Their bags had arrived, they tipped the porter and got back to exploring their room. The bathroom was luxurious, the decor indulgent and the large spa tub looked very inviting

Neil walked over and popped the cork on the champagne, pouring a glass each and put a piece of fresh mango in his mouth. Audrey lay stretched starfish style across the bed with her eyes closed. He looked over and smiled, thinking to himself how beautiful she was. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

"I'm not a museum piece, your allowed to touch you know" she teased propping herself on her elbows.

With a smile, he placed his glass on the side and strolled casually to the foot of the bed, looking her in the eyes the whole time. He picked up her foot, untied her lace and slipped off her sneaker and flung it over his shoulder making her laugh out loud. He mirrored the process on the other foot and gently tugged on the cuffs of her trousers. She loosened the waistband and lifted her hips allowing him to pull them down her long, slender legs.

The look on his face was making her insides melt, his gaze so intense that she couldn't hold it and she dropped her head back as he began to kiss her starting at her ankles.

She could swear that he kissed every centimeter of skin as he worked his way upwards. When he reached the hem of her shirt, he began to undo the buttons, kissing the newly exposed skin as he went. By the time he reached her neck, she was a boneless puddle. She opened her eyes as he stopped kissing and found his nose an inch away from hers.

"Hi" she whispered.

"Hey" he replied. "You ok?"

"More than ok" she replied with a slow smile.

He smiled and she groaned as he lifted himself off her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm think I'm overdressed" he replied with a smile as he started to remove his clothes.

She could only nod in response. He crawled back up the bed towards her, removing the last few items of clothing as they melted together as one.

As they lay there afterwards, Audrey began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Neil asked.

"Rose petals, stuck. We should shower" she said laughing. "Come on, then we can explore."

"If we must" he groaned as she took his hand and dragged him to the bathroom.

X

Fresh and dressed after their shower, they headed out into the hotel grounds. The entire place looked like a tropical garden with lush greenery and brightly coloured flowers. They planned on a blissful few days together here and looking around, that was going to be easy.

They passed by Nobu and made a reservation for the next night and decided tonight, they would order room service and eat on the deck in front of their room. They strolled around finding pools and secluded areas amongst the greenery and found themselves on the beach. The soft white sand felt amazing beneath their feet as they walked the shoreline. Another dinner on the beach at sunset was pencilled in.

Dinner in their room was more than delicious. They decided on a local fish dish which tasted divine. They sat out on their deck for hours afterwards, just chatting away about everything and nothing.

Checking her watch, Audrey noticed that time was getting on. They had plans tomorrow to hike along to Sweetheart Rock so she wanted to be fresh and ready to go from breakfast.

"Come on, bedtime" she said getting up and holding out her hand.

"Not again!" he laughed as he feigned despair.

"No way old man, you need your rest for tomorrow" she teased.

"Old man! I don't think so" he replied laughing.

"Come on and prove it then" she said over her shoulder as she headed inside.

X

Next morning at the breakfast buffet, Neil couldn't believe how much Audrey managed to put away. As they were leaving he asked "did you just eat a five course breakfast?"

"Yeah, and proud of it too. I need the energy for today, come on let's go" she replied walking ahead with a skip in her step.

They headed out along the beach to find the spot. "Apparently, this is where ancient Hawaii's Romeo and Juliet pledged their eternal love to each other" she told him as they took in the view.

"I can see why, it's beautiful" he said looking at her.

She looked at him and laughed. "That way" she said turning his head away.

"Yeah, yeah, that view is beautiful too" he said putting his arms around her shoulders and kissing her.

They hung out on the beautiful beach for the rest of the day reading a bit, dozing and cooling off in the sea every now and then. They decided that tomorrow, they would get a couple of snorkels and masks so they could take a good look at the underwater life. Their time passed more quickly than they would have liked and it was time to freshen up to head for dinner.

As expected, the food at Nobu was amazing. Neil opted for the teriyaki glazed short ribs and Audrey, the grilled venison. Both of them devoured their dinner and sat back to relax. There was entertainment in the hotel later that evening and they deliberated whether they would attend.

They decided against it and headed back to the privacy of their room. They spent so much of their lives in the company of others, they truly savored their time alone together.

"You doing ok with all this relaxing?" Neil asked later that evening.

"Yeah? Why do you ask?" Audrey replied.

"Just checking. I know just doing nothing isn't normally your thing."

"We're not doing nothing, we're hanging out and loving each others company. That's more than enough for me."

"I love you Aud."

"I love you too."

X

Their last day on Lanai arrived quickly and they intended in making the most of it. They spent the earlier part of the morning snorkelling in Hulopoe Bay and marvelled at the bright colours in the perfectly clear water.

Neil insisted that lunch was going to be a surprise. He had arranged an excursion few hours driving a 4x4 around the island. The resort had helped him organise the vehicle and had given them an amazing picnic lunch.

"This is amazing, thank you" she said smiling as they hared it around the rugged terrain.

"Your welcome" he replied.

Dinner on their last night was at a secluded table at the edge of the beach. As they had every other night so far, they thoroughly enjoyed and finished every morsel. They sat under a blanket of stars listening to the gently crashing waves thinking that life couldn't get much better.

"Let's head back, early start tomorrow" Audrey suggested.

"Yeah, heading to Big Island for some adventure" he replied.

"And plenty of other fun" she said with a wink.

"Always up for fun" he laughed taking her hand as they walked back to their room.


	31. Chapter 31

Their ferry transfer back Big Island was bittersweet. They'd had an amazing time on the peaceful escape of Lanai and were sorry to leave. Despite that, they were looking forward to getting involved in the more active side of island life.

They had stuck with the Four Seasons for that luxury feel and were heading to Hualalai Resort for the next 5 days. Check in was quick and they were heading up to explore their room. Audrey stopped on the way at an information point and picked up brochures on some island activities.

They had booked a room on the lower level with wonderful ocean views. There was the staple large, comfortable looking bed, a beautifully furnished living area and a nice space to sit outside to take in the sunsets.

"Look at this" Audrey called.

"Where are you?" Neil called back.

"Out past the bathroom, come see this."

He strolled through and found her outside thoroughly checking out the outdoor lava rock shower.

"This could be fun" she said raising her eyebrows.

"I'm sure we'll enjoy that" he said with a smile.

While they were out at the shower the porter delivered their bags to the room and left them in peace. Audrey picked up the brochures she had collected and took his hand.

"Come on, let's see what mischief we can get up to!"

Over the next hour or so, with help from the mini bar they'd roughly planned their next few days. They were going to have dinner at the base of Mauna Kea and then do some stargazing, they would take a trip and hike at Volcanoes National Park where they would see active lava flows. Audrey also wanted to hire a bike and do some exploring of their own. Lastly, they fancied a guided moonlight dip in Kauna'oa Bay, with massive manta rays floating around you while you snorkel by.

Heading down for dinner, they spoke with the concierge about making the arrangements they needed. She was very helpful and Neil made a mental note to give a generous tip once everything was sorted.

They spent the rest of their day exploring the resort. They stopped at a wonderful, quiet palm lined pool for a cool down and decided where to go for dinner.

"I swear we've spent most of this trip eating" Neil joked as they headed out to Hualalai Grille.

"Well why not" Audrey teased. "You're stuck with me now so I can let myself go a bit" she said laughing.

They ordered the seafood platter which came piled high with Madai Snapper, Kauai Shrimp, Kona Cold Lobster, King Crab and Fried Rice. They pushed the boat out and ordered a dessert when Audrey saw the pineapple upside-down cake being delivered to a nearby table.

Finishing up with a nightcap of a nice 12 year Glenfiddich, they headed back toward their room. They stopped in a couple of the poolside bars on the way and were getting rather merry by the time they got to their door.

Audrey fumbled with the lock while Neil nibbled at her neck causing a distraction. They fell in through the door and stumbled towards the bed.

"I'll be right back" Neil said as he gestured towards the bathroom.

"I'll be waiting" she replied seductively.

He was back in less than two minutes, stood at the end of the bed with a smile on his face. Audrey was fast asleep, starting to snore. He gently removed her shoes and placed a light blanket over her to keep off the cool breeze of the air conditioning.

He headed to the minibar and poured himself a bourbon. Swirling it in the glass, he sat back on a nearby chair and looked at her sleeping form.

'I'm the luckiest man alive' he thought to himself, letting out a quiet chuckle as she let out a little snore.

X

Next morning, Audrey woke a little disorientated. She was still in her clothes from the night before, no shoes but tucked under a blanket. She gingerly lifted her head with a groan and saw Neil sat at the table outside with a coffee.

She shuffled outside and sat down heavily.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Just one to many, that's all. You tried to take advantage of me and I had to fight you off. I slept on the sofa" he teased.

She gave him an incredulous look which earned her a loud laugh. "Really?!"

"Nah, the one to many bit is true but you just fell asleep. It's been a busy few days, I forgive you" he said with a wink.

"Gonna help me eat some of this before we head out" he asked lifting the lid on the tray.

Her hand flew to her mouth and she mumbled "no thanks" as she dashed off to the bathroom.

He followed her a couple of minutes later, wanting to check and see she was ok. She was sat on the edge of the tub brushing her teeth.

"All ok?"

"Much better" she smiled. "Hope you didn't eat it all, I'm starving."

"Left you some crumbs don't worry" he smiled.

X

They were heading out the National Park today to check out the active volcano fields. The trip was quite awe inspiring and the amazing contrast between the white sands and the black volcanic rock made for spectacular scenes. The guide finished his tour and they had some time to explore by themselves. Walking hand in hand they took in the views, chatting as they went and Audrey laughing at Neil's attempt at a chat-up line referring to her as 'hot stuff'.

"Are you comparing me to a volcano?" She asked mocking offense.

"No, no, no" he replied. "I'm just saying that they could be considered hot headed, full of gas and of course, absolutely beautiful" he said with a wide grin.

"Harsh, but fair" she said with a laugh. "Lucky I am so understanding."

"Absolutely!"

X

The rest of their honeymoon seemed to fly by and before they knew it, they were throwing things back in their cases ready to leave the next day.

"I can't believe we go home tomorrow" Audrey sighed putting her head on Neil's shoulder.

"It's flown by" he agreed. "Best vacation I've ever had though, hands down" he said kissing the top of her head.

"I wonder if there'll be any drama to deal with at the hospital when we get back?" Audrey thought out loud.

"Ah, ah, aaahhh. No work talk remember. We've made it nine days, let's not start now."

"But..."

"No buts."

"But..."

"Nope" he said decisively, kissing her to stop her taking. "None of that. We need a distraction."

They looked at each other with a grin and got to their feet.

"Outside shower" they said simultaneously as they left a trail of clothes behind them.


	32. Chapter 32

They were back to work three days later with a bang. Neil had missed some prep for an urgent transplant and was busy catching up before the procedure took place this week. Audrey was straight into almost a full week of meetings and had a disciplinary on her desk which she was not looking forward to.

The first job was the handover. A long meeting with Dr Andrews to pass back open surgical cases and update on anything of concern from the previous 10 days.

One name was in the list which surprised her. Baby James had been transferred to medical services a week after his surgery but he remained in the hospital.

"What happened there" she asked Andrews.

"He recovered amazingly well from the surgery but his parents haven't been by for almost two weeks now. He's still admitted while they find a foster family to take him. He'll need follow up appointments and such so it's not a simple placement I'm afraid."

Audrey was stunned. Andrews could tell this news had bothered her greatly so called a break to get a coffee and some fresh air.

She didn't go to get a coffee, she headed up to the pediatric ward and asked if she could see James. After assuring the staff that there wasn't a problem, they took her to his crib.

He lay there, fast asleep. He looked so peaceful and content. His wound had healed very well indeed and the nurse updated her fully on his case.

"Thank you" she said. "Would it be ok to come and visit again" she asked.

"Of course, Dr Lim. He does need a lot of attention when he's awake so we'd appreciate that."

She headed back towards the offices to conclude her meeting with Andrews, taking a detour past the restrooms to splash some cold water on her face. Looking up from the sink, she made eye contact with Dr Browne as she came out of a cubicle.

"Are you ok Dr Lim?"

"Yes Dr Browne, thank you" she replied wiping her hands. "Just freshening up" she said as she excused herself.

X

As Neil finished for the day, he headed to Audreys office to check on how long she was going to be. It was empty. Her computer was off and her cell sat on the desk next to her keys.

"Excuse me Marisa" he said to Andrews Secretary. "Have you seen Dr Lim?"

"Up on pediatrics" she replied looking up. "She's been back and forth a couple of times today."

"Thanks" he said as he set out to find her.

Just as Marisa said, he found Audrey in pediatrics. She was sat next to the crib with James in her arms giving him a bottle of formula.

He watched her from the doorway. He saw the look on her face as he made cooing noises in between gulps and sighed.

'It suits her' he thought as he watched her smile at him. A nurse appeared at his shoulder.

"She's a natural" she said to Neil. "And goodness knows we need the help" she smiled as she went on about her duties.

The movement caused Audrey to look up, straight in to his eyes. She gave a small smile as she put James up on her shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered as he squatted beside her.

"Hey," she replied. "His parents haven't been by in two weeks" she started.

"Poor boy" he says putting his hand gently on James back. "They'll find him somewhere soon, don't worry."

"How could they just leave, he's so beautiful."

Neil felt a shift in the mood. "Let's go home Aud, we're back here in 12 hours" he said.

"Sure, ok" she replied in a whisper. She laid the sleeping boy back in the crib and pulled up the side. "See you tomorrow" she said to the nurses at the station on the way out.

"Goodnight Dr Lim, thank you for your help. Goodnight Dr Melendez" they heard as they headed out the doors.

X

The mood that evening while they ate dinner was sullen and once they had cleared up, they sat in the family room watching some mindless show.

"We could take him" she said quietly.

"Pardon" he replied hitting the pause button.

"Baby James, we could take him couldn't we?"

"I don't think that's a good idea Aud" he replied softly.

"Why not? He's going to be fine physically but even if something else did happen, he couldn't have any one better looking after him" she said sharply.

"It's not that. Why would I have as problem with disabilities? You've met Gabi, yes?!" He was starting to frustrated.

"That's not what i meant and you know it" she said starting to raise her voice.

"What then" he barked. "If we did that, if we took him in, it would be foster care. It could take a year before he's officially ours. If anything changes in that time, are you honestly trying to tell me you could give him up? Give him back to his parents?"

"I don't know, I just feel awful that he's stuck there and there is nothing I can do" she replied tears appearing in her eyes.

"It's only been two weeks since they stopped visiting him. They have another five months before their rights are automatically terminated, they could show up next week as if nothing had happened and take him home" he said trying to keep a cool head.

"Why do you have to be so black and white on this. Why can't you think with your heart for once instead of being so bloody sensible all the time" she yelled.

"Why are you being so irrational. You always think with your heart, you need to think with your head for a change. Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?"

"I don't need protecting, thank you. I'm quite capable of making my own decisions."

"I didn't say that you weren't but it's not your decision to make alone. I'm just trying to look out for you. I couldn't stand it if you had your heart broken. That's what this would do, it'd break your heart Aud."

"Leave me alone" she sighed and sat back heavily.

"C'mon Aud."

"Leave me alone" she barked.

"Sure" he said. Her got up and took their glasses to the kitchen and pottered around. After a while, it was obvious she wasn't following so he headed back to the family room.

For the second time that day, he watched her from the door. This time her mood was at a polar opposite, her head was lolled back and she was staring at the ceiling.

"I'm heading up" he said quietly. "You coming?"

"Not right now" she replied flatly.

"Ok, see you in a bit" he said kissing her forehead "g'nite."

"Night" came the whispered response.


	33. Chapter 33

He woke alone the next morning. He had eventually nodded off in the early hours of the morning and had woken regularly to check if she was there. Audrey's side of the bed was cold and still perfectly made, it hadn't been slept in. He got up and checked the guest rooms and neither of those beds had been used either.

"Aud" he called as he headed downstairs "Audrey, you here?"

No reply. He checked the family room and a throw was bundled at the bottom of the sofa. She hadn't even come upstairs last night.

He walked through to the kitchen, the coffee pot was already on and next to it was a note.

'I've gone in early x'

He sighed and poured himself a cup looking at the note. 'What am I going to do?' he thought to himself.

X

Arriving at the hospital, he stopped at the coffee shop in the lobby. He guessed that Audrey hadn't had breakfast so picked up a couple of coffees and a muffin and made his way to the elevators.

Walking towards her office, he could already see that she wasn't there. He went in and left the muffin on her desk, turned on his heel and headed off to find her. He had a feeling he knew where she would be.

As he approached the nurses station he was greeted with a series of hushed 'good mornings' followed by the explanation that not everyone was awake just yet. He nodded his response and opened his mouth to ask after Dr Lim.

"She's giving James his breakfast" a nurse said before he could form the words.

"Thanks" he murmured as he took off to find her.

She was just where she had been last night, in the chair next to his crib. She was supporting James on her lap, chatting away quietly as he gazed up at her.

He approached quietly and caught her eye as he got nearer. She gave a small smile and as she shifted her focus to the cup in his hand, the smile widened.

"Hi" she said sheepishly, as though she had been caught out.

"Hi" he replied. "I figured you might need this" he said putting the cup on the locker next to her.

"Thanks" she said nodding. "I didn't sleep well last night. You know that's the first time we've slept apart when we didn't have too. It sucked."

"I missed you, I'm sorry we went to bed that way. The thought of you being so angry with me kept me up."

"I'm not angry with you" she said smiling at him. "Here, would you hold him while I get that coffee in me? He can't lie down yet, he's just finished his formula and needs winding."

He looked at her nervously. "Sure" he replied. "Pass him here" he said holding out his hand.

"He's smaller than Avery, you need to support his head" she said earning herself a look of 'really'.

"I've done this before, you know" he replied.

She stood to grab her cup and he sat, roles reversed. James sat on his thigh looking at him with a serious look.

"He prefers you" Neil joked.

"You'll grow on him, I'm sure" she replied.

"Aud" he began.

"I know, not here" she replied looking down.

Neil lifted James up onto his shoulder. His little eyes grew sharp looking at all the exciting new things he could see. The change in position  
helped him as he let out a solid burp in Neil's ear.

"Cheers kid, you burp like an old man."

Audrey smiled.

When she had finished her coffee, she took him back and put him in his crib.

"See you later, I've got to go to work" she said to him and he lay kicking his legs. "Be good."

Neil watched her, his heart felt heavy. He felt guilty for being such a hard ass on this one. They needed to talk more but this wasn't the time or place.

X

Their day was a mixture of scheduled surgeries, meetings and consults. It was a full day with no real chance to break for lunch.

Audrey passed by Neil's office after she packed up. He still had his head down filling in paperwork. She walked in and sat down opposite him.

"Gonna be long?"

"About an hour. Want a lift home? It rained heavy this afternoon, maybe best to leave the bike?"

"Sure, thanks. I'm done for the day so I was thinking I'd go visit James before I go."

"Aud..." he started with a warning tone.

"Sorry, I can't help it. I'm going upstairs, will you come find me when you're done?"

"Sure" he replied flatly.

X

He passed by the ward and waited at the nurses station while one of them went to call her. He felt awkward standing there but he was trying his hardest not to get attached to the boy. He already felt a tug on his heart strings this morning when he held him so was going to need to limit his contact with him. He could see why Audrey had fallen in love with him.

She eventually came out to meet him.

"Sorry, was finishing a story" she said.

"No worries" he replied. "Ready to go? Want to get dinner?" he asked. He knew she wouldn't want to talk about the situation in public so was stalling going home.

"Sure" she replied with a small smile. She knew exactly what he was doing.

X

They sat at the bar at their favourite diner while they waited for a booth. Their conversation was just casual chatter, both of then avoiding the topic of contention while they were in public.

A space came up, and they hopped down and headed over. Both of them sitting on the same side, as close as possible. They looked like they were cosying up on a date at the start of a relationship. Nobody could have guessed what they were trying to convey to each other without speaking, they sat that close to try and confirm to each other that they were really ok.

They finished their dinner and headed home. As they walked in the door, dropped their things and headed to the kitchen, Neil called "we need to talk some more."

"I know" she replied, "but not without coffee."

He shook his head and followed her through. She was just tinkering with the coffee machine so he took a seat at the breakfast bar.

"Where should we start?"

"I dunno" she replied.

"Shall we promise to try and not get angry with each other?"

She nodded, so he continued.

"I think" he said taking a deep breath. "I think, the fact that we aren't pregnant yet is bothering you more than you realise."

She briefly looked shocked, then her shoulders slumped and she looked to the countertop.

He waited.

She looked up at him with tears brimming her eyes. His heart broke to see her like this and even more so to know his words caused it.

"You're right" she said with a whisper. She was to nervous to speak louder in case the tears wouldn't stop. "I didn't think it was bothering me until we got back from honeymoon and saw James. How those parents could have just left something so precious I'll never understand."

"What do you want to do?" Neil asked. "We could go see someone about it? Get ourselves checked out?"

"Is that ok?" Audrey asked.

He was up off his seat and had her in his arms before she realised what was happening.

"We'll do whatever we need to do" he said holding her tightly. "We'll get ourselves checked out, change diets, take drugs and check out other options. Whatever we need."

"What about James?" she asked pulling back and looking at him.

"I still don't think it's a good idea sorry Aud. Look at us. Just about admitting we might have a problem. I don't think I'm ready for the potential heartbreak if they took him away. Sorry if it sounds selfish."

"I'm sorry, I got too attached" she said scolding herself.

"It's hard not too, he's a cute kid. But look at us, we're not ready to be parents overnight. You ready to stop work for a few months? Drop everything?"

"I don't seem to be able to think rationally about this."

"I get it, I really do. I don't want to hurt you saying this stuff but I think it's for the best."

"I'm going to keep visiting him until he's discharged you know."

"I know, and I'll drop by to check in on you and bring you coffee" he smiled.

"Thank you" she whispered into his neck.

"I love you Aud."

"Love you too."

X

The day came about a week later. The news that they had found a foster home for James hit her like a tonne of bricks. She got a message one morning from a nurse to let her know he would be picked up that afternoon. She went straight to Neil, he looked up at her face and knew straight away why she was there. He stood and engulfed her in a hug while she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry" she said through the tears. "I thought I was ready."

"You can never be ready, love" he replied. "Let's go say goodbye."

In a rare display of public affection at the hospital, they walked to pediatrics hand in hand. They helped the nurses pack up some of the bits and pieces they had brought him and Audrey paced around with him up on her shoulder whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

A couple appeared at the door accompanied by a hospital social worker. The foster parents.

Neil approached Audrey and quietly said "They're here."

She stopped, looked and sighed. It was time.

They walked up to her and the woman held out her hands. As James began to fuss, Audrey tensed but as she looked at Neil, the look on his face gave her the strength to hand him over.

The couple were lovely. During a brief chat, they disclosed their own family position that they had older children and now cared for younger children temporarily that had additional needs. He was a retired nurse and she was a substitute teacher, an ideal combination.

As they were ready to go, the lady asked "Would you like a picture?"

"Pardon?" Audrey asked.

"Would you like a photograph with him. He can have it to remember the wonderful people who cared for him so well. Many of the nurses have had one already."

"I don't think..." she started.

"Yes please" Neil said quickly.

She looked at him shocked as he walked to her side and held his hands out for James. The boy went willingly to him and he turned him to face outwards.

He pulled her into him and whispered in her ear. "We've been very lucky to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard. We're doing the right thing" he assured her. "Try and smile for him."

With that, she did smile and the photograph was beautiful. Neil discreetly gave the new parents his card and asked for a copy. When the time was right, he would share it with Audrey.


	34. Chapter 34

The week that followed James departure was tough for both of them. As Neil predicted, Audrey's heart was broken. She seemed to be going around her business as usual but the usual spring in her step and her cheekiness was missing. They went to work, came home, ate dinner and bed then started all over again.

Neil received the photograph from the foster parents a couple of days after James had left. He didn't quite know what to do with it right now so it was sat as a file on his desktop.

As their shifts at work started to fall out of synch the following week he wanted to be sure that Audrey would be ok with her own company. She needed something to fill the time she was previously using on her visiting with James.

He stated tapping away on his laptop and printing off a few things he hoped would help.

A couple of days later, Audrey was arriving home after a day of meetings and Neil was due to head out an hour or so later. Dinner was ready as she arrived and she could smell the delicious aroma of the sauce as she walked in.

"I could get used to this" she teased him as she walked up behind him while he stirred a pot in the stove.

"I could be a kept man" he replied with a smile. "Go wash up, it's pretty much ready."

"Yessir" she said with a mock salute and turned to the sink.

As they sat down, she could see that Neil was getting a little agitated. Dinner was accompanied by idle chit chat but once they had finished he got up and got a file from his case which was casually hung off the back of one of the bar stools.

"I've got something I want you to look at" he started.

She gave him a puzzled look. "Ok" she said slowly.

He put the file in front of her. "Take a look at this while I'm at the hospital tonight" he said.

She opened it and started. "And this is what exactly?" she asked.

"I did a little bit of research the last couple of days. These are the best fertility clinics in the area. Nothing at the hospital, I figured you wouldn't want anyone knowing our business."

"You figured right" she replied.

"It's this ok? I wasn't sure exactly what to do to be honest."

"Yeah this is ok, this is good. Thank you. I'll take a look tonight."

"We'll be fine, you know."

"Yes we will, I know that for sure."

X

After Neil had left for his stint at the hospital, Audrey settled into the comfortable sofa in their family room. Drink in hand, she opened the folder and began to read. She looked back and forth through the pages over and over again until the words started to blur together.

When Neil came home the following morning, that was where he found her. Curled up under a throw, folder open on her lap and head lolled back snoring slightly.

He headed to the kitchen to set the coffee pot and went back to wake her.

"Morning sleeping beauty" he teased as he sat down next to her jostling her awake.

"What, hi, what" she stammered as she got her bearings.

"Hi" he said with a smile. "You ok? You slept here?"

"Yeah, I was reading this stuff and must have lost track of time."

"As long as it's just that."

"Yeah" she said yawning and stretching.

"Find anything interesting" he asked trying to be casual.

"Quite a bit actually. I read reviews, testimonials and found out stuff I didn't even know I had to think about."

"Good, I'm glad" he started.

"Hang on, I'm not done" she said. "We should pick somewhere close to work so if I..."

"We" he interrupted.

"If we" she smiled. "If we need to go back and forth it'll be easier."

"Sounds like we're good to go" he said leaning in for a kiss.

"I'll book us in somewhere for next week. We've got some time off together here and there" she replied as she kissed him back.

"Can't wait" he smiled as he kissed her again. "Just got to check something with you though?" he asked.

"Hhmmm" she mumbled.

"We still get to try the old fashioned way too right" he asked with a small smile and a rise of his eyebrows.

"Absolutely" she replied moving to straddle his lap. "Absolutely."

X

As Audrey was getting ready to leave upstairs, Neil sat at the breakfast bar reading through the folder he'd put together. He smiled at the scribbled notes she'd made in the margins.

'We'll get there' he thought smiling to himself.

"What you smiling at goofball" he heard as Audrey walked in looking for coffee.

"Nothing" he replied.

"Liar" she said with mock accusation.

"Yeap" he said smirking some more.

"Am I gonna have to resort to torture?" she joked.

"Yes please" he teased.

"Ok, bluff called! I've got to go but I'm hoping you'll still be smiling like that when I get home tonight."

"No doubt, love you Mrs Melendez."

"Love you back."

X

Seven days later they were sat in a waiting room with a number of other couples waiting to see the doctor that Audrey had chosen. The other couples were very obviously in different stages of their treatment and at least two were very obviously pregnant.

"I can't decide if this is good advertising or if it's a bit insensitive" she whispered in Neil's ear nodding towards one of the heavily pregnant ladies sat nearby.

He laughed out loud attracting a few looks from the other occupants and a smack on the arm from Audrey.

"Mr. and Mrs Melendez please" came the call.

"Saved by the bell" Neil muttered.

They sat down in the comfortable chairs opposite Dr. Churchill and started going through their history. They covered family health, sexual histories, and anything and everything that might have been of importance.

"How long have you been trying to conceive?" Dr. Churchill asked.

"We've been having unprotected sex for about a year" Audrey answered frankly.

"How regularly do you have intercourse" she asked.

"I'd say three times a week on average. Sometimes more, sometimes less depends on our shifts at work" she replied.

"Right ok. Audrey we'd like to do some scans and Neil, we will need a sample from you and we can get started" she said as she rose from her seat and shook their hands. "If you would like to stop at the desk just outside to get yourself situated. It's more discreet than the main reception."

They thanked her and took their leave.

"That was detailed" Neil said cringing slightly.

"It's not over yet" she reminded him. "Get ready. You get to see me in a way you've never seen before. And you get to wander off down there afterwards and enjoy yourself" she teased.

"Trust me, it'll be no fun without you" he smiled.

"Mr Melendez, are you trying to flirt with me" she said feigning shock. "At a doctor's office no less!"

"Erm, no, I didn't mean that. Um, you know what I meant" he replied in a fluster.

"Relax love, you're so easy to wind up."

An administrator came by, checked their details and directed them to where they needed to go.

An hour or so later, after being prodded, scanned and sampled they left the office and walked to the car to head home for the rest of the day.

"I feel violated" Audrey said with a smile but only half joking. It had been a brutal and intrusive few hours and they were looking forward to getting home.

"We'll have results next week and whatever they are, today will have been worth it" he replied as he leaned into kiss her as he opened her car door.

"No doubt love" she smiled. "And don't forget, Dr. Churchill said to carry on as we are so we've got that to look forward too."

"Well if it's doctors orders, I'm sure I'll manage" he laughed closing the door.


	35. Chapter 35

They carried on with their daily lives of home and hospital while waiting for a call from the clinic. That came along surprisingly quickly and there they were, sat in the same waiting room just over a week later.

The only appointment they could fit on together was technically 'after hours' and it was just the two of them in the waiting room. Both of them sat there, tense. Both thinking 'what if it's me?'

Neil startled out of his thoughts when Audrey rested her hand on his thigh.

"Penny for them" she smiled at him.

"Not worth that much" he smiled back as he lifted her hand to his lips.

"This is strange isn't it? Being sat on the other side of a diagnosis. We're usually the ones dishing out the information" she said putting her head on his shoulder.

"I hadn't thought of that" he replied. "I was wondering how they could be running late if we're the only ones here" he smiled raising a small giggle from Audrey.

"Mr and Mrs Melendez" came the call. "This way please."

They followed the worker down to the office where Dr Churchill was waiting.

"Neil, Audrey, good to see you again. Please take a seat" she said gesturing towards a small seating area.

"Thanks" they replied as they lowered themselves onto the comfortable sofa.

"Let's get started" she said to them with a smile. "All the tests we did seem to show a case of what we call unexplained fertility."

They looked at each other, unsure how to react.

Dr Churchill took the silence as her cue to continue. "All your hormones levels are within normal ranges, the scans and procedures on Audrey showed no obvious obstructions or issues and Neil, your levels are healthy too."

Audrey looked shocked. As they mentioned earlier, they had never been on this side of a diagnosis before and the realisation that they couldn't pinpoint something wrong was frustrating.

"Now I know how our patients feel when we say we don't know what's wrong" she said flatly.

"So what do we do?" Neil asked putting his hand on Audrey's leg and leaning forward.

Audrey gave a small smile. 'Look at him, he really wants this' she thought.

She took his hand and sat forward with him. "Yes, what are the next steps" she added trying to sound confident.

"There are lifestyle changes you can make which research has shown can help. They are all in this booklet but things like changes in diet, vitamin supplements and relaxation therapies are all solid starts."

"Looks like you'll have to come back to yoga with me" Neil teased.

"Never say never" she replied with a grimace. "What else?"

"We can try hormone stimulation drugs such as Clomiphene. That'll stimulate ovulation so you can time your activity better" she continued.

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Aud, can we think positive here!"

"Sorry, sorry" she said. "Please, carry on" she said, sitting back.

"If we need to, there are plenty more options available. IUI and IVF are available treatments which we can certainly perform here. We have many options."

"Ok, let's get started" Audrey said. "What do we need to do?"

The doctor ran through the specifics of the drug cycle and what they would need to do and how they would proceed.

They left with their prescription and headed to the car.

"Ready for this?" Audrey asked. "We should be able to start this stuff next week."

"Born ready" he smiled. "Particularly looking forward to day ten onwards" he said with a wink as he leaned forward to open the car door.

"I thought you were a gentleman Mr Melendez" she teased.

"I'll be anything you want me to be" he said before kissing her breathless.

X

Their hospital shifts coming up were not going to make this first cycle easy. They seemed to be working polar opposites as the time they needed to physically be together approached.

"How are we going to work around this sex thing?" Audrey asked one afternoon as they passed in their hallway.

"The sex thing?" Neil asked laughing. "Can I just say now, I don't think we should do it at the hospital."

"Heck no!" Audrey replied. "And no motels with hourly rates either" she joked.

"Seriously though, it didn't cross my mind that we'd have to schedule this part quite so much" he said with a small smile.

"Well just make sure your ready to perform your 'husbandly duties' when needed Mr Melendez" she said using air quotes.

"Any time, any place, anywhere" he replied with a smile.

X

The first cycle seemed to pass by at the speed of light and one morning they found themselves sat on the floor of their bathroom waiting.

"It's it time yet?" Audrey asked.

"It's literally been thirty seconds" Neil replied. "Patience."

"What about now?"

"Wait a minute" he laughed. He was glad that she didn't seem to stressed about this, just excited.

"Ok, our must be time now?"

He checked his watch and nodded. She reached up to the sink and picked up the little stick and his heart broke a little as a flash of disappointment crossed her face.

"Ding, ding" she said with a sad smile. "Ready for round two."

"As long as it takes" he replied embracing her tightly. Despite her casual comment, he knew she was disappointed. So was he.

X

Another cycle passed by and they sat in the same place, waiting. No idle chat this time and when the time came to look, Neil checked the small screen.

She could tell straight away that it wasn't the result they wanted. His shoulders slumped.

"Third times a charm" he said as she leaned into him.

"I'll call the clinic and let them know" she said eventually.

"I can do that" he replied.

"I want to do it" she said getting up. "I need five minutes though ok?"

"Sure, I'll go make some coffee." He replied.

"Decaf please" she reminded him. "This ain't over yet, you know" she said with a smile.


	36. Chapter 36

At the end of the third unsuccessful cycle, they had an appointment booked at the clinic to start looking at other options. The initial step would be to double the dose of fertility drugs for another couple of cycles then they spent the remainder of the appointment discussing the stats of IUI vs. IVF. Dr Churchill gave them a bunch of literature to take home and read through before they came to a decision.

"I never expected this to be easy, but I didn't realise it would be quite this difficult" Neil said on his way back to the car.

"I know" she agreed. "Maybe it would have been better if they had diagnosed something as opposed to it being 'unexplained' issues."

"True" he agreed. "At least if you know what's wrong you can take steps to fix it" he said with a sigh.

"Let's go for dinner tonight" she said. "Let's go out, eat crap and have fun."

"I like the sound of that" he said. "It's a date."

X

That evening they headed to their favourite restaurant, ate their favourite dinner and danced until the early hours of the morning. They didn't talk doctors appointments, or baby talk the whole time.

As the night went on, they had a few more drinks and were very merry by the time they stumbled through the front door around 2am.

She tried to concentrate and lock the front door, but all she could feel was his assault on her neck and his hands wandering, finding the gaps in her clothing and removing layers as he went. He pinned her against the wall in the hall, and it was his turn to groan as she started to pull at his belt.

He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist so they were touching in all the right places. His head dropped to her shoulder as they joined and their coupling was hot and frantic.

They collapsed to the floor in a heap afterwards smiling at each other like idiots.

"That was hot" Audrey said trying to catch her breath. "I forgot just how good we were at this."

He grinned at her. "Please don't think I'm not enjoying the scheduled sex. But that was something else. We need to do more of that!"

"I absolutely agree" she replied. "I'm too old to be sleeping here though, let's go to bed."

"Lead the way" he said as he got to his feet, pulling her up with him.

X

Next morning, they woke groaning at the light flooding their bedroom. She put her cold feet on his legs to encourage him to get up and pull the drapes.

"Cruel woman" he mumbled.

"Put the coffee on while your up, love" she said pulling the comforter right around her. "Decaf remember. Back on the wagon today" she smiled.

"Yes ma'am" he said with a mock salute as he pulled on some pants and headed downstairs.

He set the pot to go and stood flicking the pages of the literature they had been given yesterday. He sighed, it was turning into quite the journey.

With two mugs of steaming coffee, he made his way to the stairs grinning to himself as he saw their jackets still on the floor where they were thrown last night.

Audrey was still tucked under the blankets as he returned with the drinks. She peeped out and looked at his smiling face.

"What's made you this happy?"

"You" he replied. "Last night."

She smiled back. "It was definitely fun. We should do it more."

"Which part?" He asked feigning innocence.

"All of it, but especially the last part" she replied.

"I'm sure we can figure something out."

X

A few weeks went by and they were due at the clinic for Audrey to get some routine blood tests. They were leaving directly from the hospital and Audrey was stood waiting for Neil in the lobby and pacing back and forth. He was late.

She called his cell, there was no reply, same with his office line. She sighed and marched to the elevators and hit the button for the surgical floor. She knew exactly where he was going to be.

He was in OR2, getting stressed about the time passing but trying his hardest to stay focused. He sensed her watching from the gallery above, he looked up at her and shrugged. She could see in his eyes how sorry he was so she smiled back down at him and waved that she would go.

She headed out via his office and left him a note. Her picked it up an hour later and smiled as he read it. 'It's just blood tests, I'll be fine by myself. See you at home x'

She just about arrived in time for her appointment. And before she could even sit, she heard her name being called. She followed the nurse along the corridor, and was directed into a small room where her bloods were taken.

After a short wait in the seating area, she was called into see Dr Churchill and run through the results. They were looking to see that she was actually ovulating when she was meant to be and checking her hormone levels and having a quick chat about the next steps.

She left the appointment with a spring in her step. The results showed everything she needed to know.

X

"All go ok today" Neil asked. "So sorry I missed it."

"Absolutely fine. It was just routine, don't worry about it. Not like you could have just left in the middle of a surgery" she said smiling.

"I won't be missing another one don't worry. We're in this together remember" he said.

""I know, it was just blood tests and a new prescription. Nothing I couldn't handle" she replied.

X

They were scheduled to be off together that weekend and were looking forward to spending a couple of days together

He stood by the stove cooking breakfast as Audrey sat at the breakfast bar. She was still deliberating how to bring up a subject that had been nagging at her all week. And then, the perfect opportunity presented itself.

Neil asked "How do you want your eggs this morning Aud?"

"Over hard would be great please" she said.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Apparently pregnant women shouldn't eat eggs with runny yolks."

"No worries" he replied casually. Then he stopped. "Pardon?"

"What?"

"Say that again, about the eggs."

"Over hard please"

"Why"

"Because pregnant women shouldn't eat..."

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. He dropped the egg he was holding, covered the space between them in two strides and swept her up in his arms kissing her senseless.


	37. Chapter 37

After taking the eggs off the heat and throwing the ruined pan in the sink, he sat back down next to her at the breakfast bar. He was in shock and the questions came thick and fast.

"When did you find out? How far along? You feeling ok?" he blurted out in quick succession not giving her any time to actually answer.

She just sat and smiled at him until he was finished.

"Ready?" she asked him. He checked himself and smiled right back.

"Sorry" he said sheepishly. "I should probably let you answer."

"I'm about 4 weeks along Dr Churchill said. I found out at the appointment for bloods earlier this week. I was trying to figure out some kind of big reveal for you, but couldn't wait anymore" she said a bit shyly.

He took her hands. "That casual announcement was the best" he said with a goofy grin still plastered on his face. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine" she replied. "I'm excited and nervous all wrapped up together! It's a bit early to start feeling sick but fingers crossed I'll get away with it. "

"It is very early isn't it. We're keeping it quiet for now, yes? Neil asked, already knowing the answer.

"Gosh, yes" she replied. "Waaaaaaay to early to tell anyone."

"I kinda like that's it's our little secret for now" he said getting up to make some fresh breakfast. "Still want eggs?" he asked.

"No thanks, hard eggs are a waste" she replied with a laugh. "Toast will be fine."

X

They stuck to their originally plan of visiting Gabi for lunch but their evening plans changed. Their original plan of going dancing was put on pause for their new plan of staying in and talking about how much their lives were going to change.

"So do you need to do anything differently" Neil asked. "Workwise I mean?"

"I should probably tell Andrews for Health and Safety reasons but apart from that we aren't obliged to tell anyone."

"What about Murphy?" Neil asked.

"What about Shaun?"

"He'll know something is different even when you carry on as normal" he said with a smile.

"You're probably right. He'll see I'm walking differently, or holding myself differently even when I think I'm not" she said with a sigh. "Maybe we should tell him and make sure he knows how important it is to keep it quiet."

"Probably the best option" Neil agreed. "We'll tell him tomorrow after we've seen Andrews."

For the rest of the weekend, the conversation seemed to drift back to the fact that Audrey was pregnant. One conversation that started about the plants in their garden, ended with them discussing how they would baby proof despite that being over a year away.

Sunday evening came around and Neil noticed Audrey getting gradually more quiet. Ashe didn't seem interested in conversation anymore so he bit the bullet.

"What's wrong?" he asked. As she opened her mouth to say 'nothing' he jumped back in.

"Don't say nothing, I know there's something" he said softly. "What's wrong?"

"What if" she started. "What if we tell people about the baby and then something happens. You know, something bad?"

"You can't think like that" he replied. "How many times do you tell patients to keep a positive mental attitude? Looks like you're hoping to have to follow your own advice Dr Lim" he said pulling her to him.

"And your right, again" she replied. "Does it get boring being right all the time."

"It does not" he replied in matter of fact with a smile.

X

Getting ready to leave for work on the Monday, Audrey was quicker to get ready than usual.

"Can I get a lift today?" she asked.

"Sure" he replied. "It's a beautiful day though, no bike?"

"I think I'll give the bike a miss for a while, you know, just to be careful."

"I can't say I'm disappointed" he replied as he handed her a coffee. "I'm just glad I didn't have to suggest it" he teased.

They arrived an hour later and headed straight to Andrews office to try and catch him before the day started. He was just arriving and hanging up his jacket as he gestured for then to come in and take a seat.

"How can I help you both today" he asked in his usual, slightly condescending style.

They looked at each other, Neil nodded and Audrey took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant" she blurted out.

He looked back and forth between them both and his face broke into a wide smile.

"That's wonderful news" he said. "How far along are you?"

"Just four weeks so we'd appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself for now. We just wanted to let you know for health and safety reasons, you know."

"Absolutely, nobody will learn it from me. I appreciate you letting me know and trusting me with this. Thank you" he said.

"You'll be needing time for appointments together I'm assuming. Don't worry about running it past me, I trust you to make sound judgements regarding that" he continued.

"Thank you Dr Andrews" Neil replied.

"Yes, thank you" added Audrey.

They stood and headed towards the door and just as they were about to leave he spoke again.

"I'm truly happy for you both, this is a blessing. Congratulations."

"Thanks" they replied in unison.

As the door closed behind them. Dr Andrews sat down heavily in his chair. The conversation had brought some buried feelings back to the surface. He looked at the photograph on his desk, smiled and picked up the phone to call his wife.

X

"That went better than I thought" Audrey said as the elevator doors closed.

"It did" Neil agreed. "Was quite unexpected."

"And now for the tricky one" she teased. "Shaun should be here by now, let's go find him."

They ran into Shaun as he emerged from the changing room to start his shift.

"Can we have a word Dr Murphy" Neil asked.

"Of course" he replied. "Is there something wrong?"

Audrey placed her hand on Neil's arm and gave a look that said 'let me take it from here'. He was happy to oblige.

"Shaun, can we talk in private please?" Audrey asked directing them to an empty exam room.

"Is there something you need help with?" Shaun started.

"Yes please" Audrey replied. "We need you to keep a secret for us please. It's very important."

Shaun considered this request in silence whilst looking at them critically.

"Dr Lim is pregnant" he announced. "She is standing slightly differently and Dr Melendez, you looked at her stomach when Dr Lim mentioned a secret. Also," he continued, "you just look... different."

"Told you" Neil said smiling. "Didn't take him long."

Audrey continued to hold Shaun's attention and continued speaking.

"It's very, very early days so we would like to not say anything to anybody until we are ready to announce it. Is that ok?"

"It is Dr Lim. I will not tell anybody about your good news. Am I required to give you a hug?" he replied. Audrey shook her head with a smile. "I should go now, I'm late" he said as he turned on his heel and walked out.

They stood there a little while, just shoulder to shoulder with their hands touching.

"It was actually nice to share that with someone" Audrey said smiling.

"It was" Neil agreed. "You watch, time will fly by and we'll be screening calls from our mothers in no time" he teased.

"Can't wait" she smiled.


End file.
